Aristotle with a Bust of Homer

Light in Painting

Rembrandt

Aristotle with a Bust of Homer

1653

Oil on canvas, 143.5 × 136.5 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Light picks out the face, the white sleeves, the gold chain and the hand resting on the bust; the rest sinks into brown shadow.

  • The Met describes his "dark palette and almost sculptural buildup of paint".
  • Shadow falls across part of the face, so the eyes stay half hidden.

Concepts

Image: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York · Public Domain (Met Open Access)

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