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Self-Portrait with Two Circles

Artist: Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669)
Date: c. 1665–1669
Dimensions: 114.3 x 94 cm
Medium: Oil on canvas
Location: Kenwood House, London, United Kingdom

In one of his last self-portraits, Rembrandt shows himself standing in his studio wearing a fur-lined robe and a white cap, holding his palette, brushes and maulstick. Behind him, two large circles are drawn on the wall.

A closer look

The face, built up with thick, worked paint, is that of an old man who has known fame and bankruptcy, looking at us with calm self-awareness. The hands and tools are only roughly sketched, as if the painting itself were unfinished. The meaning of the two circles remains a mystery: they may refer to a legend about an artist who proved his skill by drawing a perfect circle freehand, to world maps, or simply to the artistic theory of balance.

History of the painting

The self-portrait was bought in the late 19th century by Edward Guinness, later the 1st Earl of Iveagh, head of the Guinness brewing company and a major collector of old masters. In 1925 he bought Kenwood House, an 18th-century villa on Hampstead Heath, and on his death in 1927 he left the house and his paintings to the nation. Since Kenwood opened to the public in 1928, the Rembrandt has been the centrepiece of the Iveagh Bequest, and entry is free.

Self-Portrait with Two Circles

A closer look

History of the painting

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