Old Man with a Gold Chain

In the pictureAn old man stands with his shoulders turned at an angle and his head turned slightly. Black and dark green feathers are fixed to his black velvet hat, and white curls escape from beneath it. Light comes from the left, falling on his furrowed brow and white-bearded chin. Around his neck is a silvery steel gorget studded with rivets, and over his black cloak a gold chain runs diagonally from the shoulder on the right side of the picture down to the left of his chest, ending in a medallion. A small earring shows in his ear, and the background is olive brown. Initials are signed in the lower left corner.

BackgroundRembrandt painted it in 1631, at 25, around the time he was moving from his hometown of Leiden to Amsterdam. It is thought to be not a portrait commissioned by a particular sitter but a study of expression, light and texture, made by dressing an elderly model in a showy hat, a piece of armor and a gold chain. In the Netherlands such character studies were called tronies. Rembrandt painted several pictures of the same old man in this period; it has been suggested that the model was the painter's father, but this has not been confirmed. A gold chain was then a mark of honor that rulers bestowed on those who had rendered distinguished service.

Puzzle tipThe dark areas are large, so it is not easy. First fit the bright face, the silvery gorget and the diagonal of the gold chain to set up the framework of the body. Locate the hat and feathers by the feather tips with a green tinge within the black. For the black cloak, use the faint light on the velvet folds as your clue, and divide the olive brown background left from right by the fact that the right side is slightly brighter and shows scratched brushmarks. 48 pieces is a good fit.