WILLEM VAN NIJMEGEN | A 'trompe l'œil' of a Rembrandt self portrait etching, pinned to a wooden surface

oil on canvas, unframed signed and dated on the sheet of paper: Willem van Nÿmegen Fecit. et / pincit A.o 1686.Willem van Nijmegen worked in The Hague, Haarlem, and Delft, and specialised in painting and drawing illusionistic 'trompe l'œil' images, particularly of prints. Here he reproduces a Rembrandt etching of a self-portrait, wearing a cap with an open mouth.1 The original print is one of a small group of etchings that Rembrandt produced in 1630, using his own likeness to depict a variety of facial expressions (frowning, laughing and open-mouthed), which could serve both him and his students as models for figures in larger compositions of biblical, historical or mythological subjects.  1 http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=685528&partId=1&searchText=rembrandt+self+portrait&page=3

All paintings available to view at the Sotheby’s Greenford Park warehouse, 5 - 7 and 10 – 13 September (10 - 4pm), by appointment. The canvas is lined, the paint surface is clean and the varnish is clear and even. Inspection under utlraviolet light reveals small retouchings scattered in the background, but the painting is in overall very good condition.
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