A sharp and clear 18th century impression of Bartsch's only state, Usticke's first state of three, printed prior to the appearance of the diagonal scratch running down from the upper left corner, the signature has disappeared.

Trimmed slightly within the platemark at the upper edge, down to the platemark elsewhere, otherwise in excellent condition. Collections in which impressions of this state of this etching can be found: Rijkspretenkabinet, Rijksmuesum, Amsterdam; Kepferstichkabinett der Staatlichen Museen, Berlin-Dahlem; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; Teylers Stichting, Haarlem; Ermitage Museum, Leningrad; The British Museum, London; The Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; Duthuit Collection, Petit Palais, Paris; Collection Edmond de Rothschild, Musee du Louvre, Paris; Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna. Rembrandt's self-portraits always tell us how he feels about himself. In 1638 he feels prosperous: his shirt and jacket are expensive and stylish, a crushed velvet hat with a plume has supplanted the plain artist's beret, and he has grown whiskers. These characteristics are all of a befitting a man with much revenue, a costly household and admiring students. Rembrandt also feels confident: his bearing is aristocratic, his face and eyes convey smugness, and his hand is thrust jauntily into the folds of his garment. The scale and ostentation of this self-portrait contrast sharply with the intimate studies of 1630-1631, which reveal only his head and shoulders. Yet, within five years of this fine reflection of 1638, Rembrandt's popularity as a portraitist for the wealthy Amsterdam bourgeoisie would fade, his beloved wife Saskia and his mother would die, and the resulting financial and emotional turmoil would bring a mature understanding of human fragility to Rembrandt's art and his views of himself.

Bartsch 20; Hind 156; Biorklund-Barnard 38-B; Usticke 20 i/iii

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