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Artist
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, born on 15th July 1606 (Leiden), died on 4th October 1669 (Amsterdam). Rembrandt, generally known by his first name, is considered one of the most important and well-known Dutch baroque artists. According to current knowledge, his work comprises some 350 paintings, 300 etchings and 1000 sketches with a focus on portraits, landscapes as well as the Bible and mythology. Rembrandt’s life was turbulent, on the one hand shaped by great success, on the other by family-related strokes of fate. Several years before his death, Rembrandt went bankrupt. He died in financial destitution.
Artwork
"The Man in a Gold Helmet” measures 50.7 x 67.5 cm (width x height).
Brief description
The picture shows an elderly man wearing a finely-crafted helmet with feathers on his head. The dark background and the only weakly lit face of the man result in the helmet becoming the visual focal point of the picture. The colour of the helmet, its elaborate décor and the strong lighting accents in this area of the painting emphasize the helmet as a valuable part of a military armament. The personality of the wearer is pushed into the background.
Genre & Material
Baroque painting, painted in oil on canvas.
Where can I find this in Berlin?
In the Gemäldegalerie am Kulturforum Potsdamer Platz, Matthäikirchplatz, 10785 Berlin. To find out how to get there, please click the link below the description. “Self Portrait with Velvet Beret” hangs on the first floor of the Gemäldegalerie close to the room with several Rembrandt paintings.
In 1897, the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museums-Verein, a sponsor of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, purchased the masterpiece “Man in a Gold Helmet” as an original work by Rembrandt. Less than 100 years later, in the 1970s, it came to light as part of the “Rembrandt Research Project” initiated in 1968 that the painting was created by someone close to Rembrandt, but not by him. Since 1986, the painting has literally no longer been considered a “Rembrandt”. But it surely remains a masterpiece.
The picture shows an elderly man wearing a finely-crafted helmet with feathers on his head. The dark background and the only weakly lit face of the man result in the helmet becoming the visual focal point of the picture. The colour of the helmet, its elaborate décor and the strong lighting accents in this area of the painting emphasize the helmet as a valuable part of a military armament. The personality of the wearer is pushed into the background.
