Beggar, Seated in an Armchair, Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1629
etching, h 127mm × w 85mm More details
The numerous old men that Rembrandt etched in his early years in Leiden will have regularly posed for him while seated in a chair. This is rarely visible in his prints, but is so in this one. The shabbily attired old man with a patchy beard and bony hands stands out slightly against the large armchair in which he sits. This chair lends him an air of near biblical grandeur.
