Self-Portrait with Bare Head

Rembrandt made an unusually large number of self-portraits. The etchings were made early in his career. Decades later, one of his students reported that Rembrandt urged his students to study themselves before the mirror so they could be actor and audience simultaneously. Such lessons in observation and empathy were useful in understanding and depicting the emotions and thoughts of biblical, literary, and historical figures. Rembrandt's tiny etched self-portraits were gathered by collectors and had the effect of marketing the artist himself as a brand.