Self-Portrait
Jan Lievens
1634-1635
As a very young man Lievens painted this self-portrait, which is unusual insofar as the subject is viewed in profile. In several places the face merges with the all-encompassing darkness of the back ground because the only source of light within the image comes from the left and hits the figure from behind; it falls most brightly upon the white ruffles, neck, and cheek. The forehead and eyes – the window to the soul - lie in shadow, almost disappearing into the background. The Baroque era saw the emergence of a mode of painting where the images were shrouded in darkness, lit only by a single source of light. A widespread belief of the era claimed that artists were governed by the planet Saturn and so were melancholy by nature. Perhaps the extreme chiaroscuro in this self-portrait reflects Lieven's desire to visualise such an artist's temperament, a gloominess of mind that was believed to be the wellspring of creativity.
SMK – National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen · Image: SMK – National Gallery of Denmark, Public domain · Text: SMK – National Gallery of Denmark (text: Eva de la Fuente Pedersen), CC0