Jan Cornelisz Sylvius, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1646
etching, h 278mm × w 189mm More details
This is Rembrandt’s second portrait of Jan Cornelisz Sylvius, which Petrus Sylvius commissioned in memory of his deceased father. The text praises his eloquence, and that is exactly what Rembrandt depicts here. The preacher is shown making a rhetorical gesture, as though speaking. The shadows of his hand and head even extend over the edge of the oval surround.
