Head of a man in a fur cap, crying out

The expressive early work, Head of a man in a fur cap, crying out, was created by the Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn in 1629. Executed on paper, this piece is classified as a print, likely an etching, reflecting the artist's intense engagement with the medium during his formative years in Leiden.

Dating from the height of the Dutch Golden Age, this small, highly dramatic study captures an intense, exaggerated moment of human suffering. The subject, typically identified as a tronie—a character study focusing purely on facial expression rather than portrait identity—shows a man consumed by distress, his mouth open in an inaudible shriek and his brow deeply furrowed beneath a heavy fur cap. Rijn utilizes stark contrasts of light and shadow, a signature element of his style, to emphasize the man's anguish and the sculptural quality of the head.

The study of extreme emotion was central to Rijn’s practice at this time. These early prints allowed him to explore the psychological depth and physical manifestation of intense feeling, providing a repertoire of expressions that he would later deploy in his larger history paintings. The detail achieved in the etching process, especially in rendering the textures of the fur and the deep shadows surrounding the eyes, exemplifies Rijn's emerging technical skill as a printmaker.

This specific impression of Head of a man in a fur cap, crying out is held within the esteemed collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. As a canonical work dating from the seventeenth century, its images are often part of public domain initiatives, ensuring widespread accessibility and scholarship surrounding Rijn’s masterful prints.