Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-portrait, c. 1628. oil on panel, height 22.6 cm x width 18.7 cm; height 33.2 cm x width 29.3 cm x depth 5.9 cm. Rijksmuseum, Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt, the Stichting tot Bevordering van de Belangen van het Rijksmuseum and the ministerie van CRM. Public domain (Public Domain Mark).

Self-portrait

Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1628. oil on panel.

Three-quarter view
Rim light
Painting

Head and shoulders lit from behind on the left, so the light catches the hair, ear, cheek and neck while most of the face stays in shadow.

Open in the value study maker

The image is free to use for any purpose: the museum has released it into the public domain.

Value studies

Self-portrait as a study in 2 values — **Notan, 2 values.** Split at value 2.5: 44% of the picture is dark and 56% light.

Self-portrait as a study in 3 values — **3 values.** 39% dark (values 0 to 2), 38% middle (2 to 3.9) and 23% light (3.9 to 10).

Self-portrait as a study in 5 values — **5 values.** From darkest to lightest: 23%, 17%, 26%, 22% and 11% of the picture.

Split at the picture's natural breaks between light and dark, with Simplify at 5, as in the value study maker. Values run from 0 (black) to 10 (white).

Palette

#1A130EValue 0.7, neutral
22%
#474135Value 2.8, warm
17%
#2D2113Value 1.4, warm
17%
#5B5445Value 3.6, warm
16%
#726956Value 4.5, warm
12%
#523B20Value 2.7, warm
8%
#938974Value 5.7, warm
5%
#937044Value 5.0, warm
3%

The 8 main colors run from value 0.7 to 5.7: 7 warm and 1 neutral. See warm and cool colors for how the labels are worked out.

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