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Remembering

 




Remembering Rembrandt Remembering


An artist sits down to paint him/herself – a readily available, totally cooperative and indeed interesting subject: seemingly a straightforward project.

But at the same time, so complex – especially when portraiture is one of the prime achievements of that artist, his self portraits span an eventful life and that artist has the perception, honesty and skills to understand and depict change, loss and the many effects of ageing. The face with its evidence of experience, its wear and tear, is a kind of living, almost demonstrable, memory.

It all becomes even more complicated when you or I sit before such a self portrait.The artist studies himself, his gaze directed at the painter.  But that same gaze studies us as we look at the painting. He sees himself and us, as we see him.  Rembrandt and me, face to face. Such a confrontation, when created by a man like Rembrandt, is challenging, indeed perturbing.

And challenging it is to try to capture something of all this – the look of someone looking at himself looking, even before I involve myself – in words.

I hope I can be helped by the kindness of poetry – its tolerance, adaptability, generosity – as I try to convey my feelings about Rembrandt's self portraiture, and his own remembering.








It is as if you see me Rembrandt

even as I look at you

as you gaze upon yourself

we are face to face

 


Yes, I have painted many faces

this face of mine so many times

 

I just caught the eye of the boy

who passed by in a hurry

tossed his head and with a glance

continued on his way

to paint another and another

each different but the same

 

he was not to see this one

that was yet to be

recorded in the face I’m painting

with greater understanding

 

this painter in his darkness

who now returns again

his steady studied gaze

to see himself as he once was

open-mouthed and tousled

 

unsurprised no longer eager

I accept that which I see before me

with no need to turn away

 


I feel you see me Rembrandt

long after the paint is dry

seeing yourself and remembering

all that’s passed you by.








Comments

  1. Anonymous1 November 2026 at 11:22

    Thankyou, you have captured somehow the dash of a life however great or plain all the same

    ReplyDelete

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