Bust of an Elderly Man in a Flat Cap

The drawing Bust of an Elderly Man in a Flat Cap by Rembrandt van Rijn, dating from approximately 1635-1637, is a prime example of the artist's masterful draftsmanship during the height of the Dutch Golden Age. Executed in pen and brown ink on laid paper, this work falls within the classification of drawing, a medium Rijn utilized extensively for preparatory studies and character portraits. This period, roughly spanning 1601 to 1650, saw Rijn move toward a deeply psychological and unvarnished approach to depicting the human figure.

The subject is rendered with remarkable economy and expressive power. The assured, swift lines of the brown ink capture the texture of the subject's skin and the simple, informal structure of his flat cap. Rijn’s genius is evident in his ability to suggest three-dimensional volume and profound inner mood through minimal means. Visible hatching and crosshatching define the subtle shadows around the eyes and emphasize the structure of the face, imbuing the anonymous sitter with a sense of dignity and life experience. While many of Rijn's contemporaries focused on idealized figures, this piece reflects his career-long fascination with capturing authentic human character, often utilizing studies of elderly sitters, sometimes classified as tronies.

Drawings like this reveal the foundational techniques underpinning Rijn’s painting practice, offering direct insight into his creative process. As a crucial representation of seventeenth-century Dutch draftsmanship, the work is highly valued in the history of art. This piece currently resides in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, where it serves as an important benchmark for understanding Rijn’s evolving technique in the mid-1630s. Today, high-resolution images and prints of masterworks from this era are frequently made available to the public domain, allowing scholars worldwide to study the nuanced handling of the pen and ink used by the great Dutch master.