Rembrandt Van Rijn: The Standard-Bearer

An in-depth analysis of Rembrandt's striking self-portrait and its personal and political undertones

The Dutch painter Rembrandt (1606-69) painted The Standard-Bearer in 1636, at the age of 30, when he was already a popular portraitist in Amsterdam. The self-portrait advertises his ambition and virtuosity. The loose brushstrokes, the deliberate scratches in the paint, his use of light and the resulting three-dimensional effect all show Rembrandt's idiosyncratic style. Standard-bearers played an important role in the Eighty Years' War, the conflict that would lead to the birth of an independent Dutch Republic. The standard-bearer had to defend the banner with his life, and was therefore a symbol of strength and bravery. Thus, courage, peace and art are inextricably linked in this masterpiece. In this book, Jonathan Bikker, curator of 17th-century Dutch painting at the Rijksmuseum, explains the symbolism of The Standard-Bearer and discusses the key position that this self-portrait occupies in Rembrandt's oeuvre.