Rembrandt Master Study

To test my painting skills I took on a master study of Rembrandt's "The Man With the Golden Helmet". This project was done at the now-closed Espoo Atelier under supervision of Kai Halmesvaara.

The purpose of a master study is to understand the process and visual language of a master artist. If your master artist was born before the 19th century then there are no videos or work-in-progress photos to look at (except perhaps early sketches), so it's really a case of reverse-engineering. You go one step at a time, working from large forms to smaller ones, concentrating on problem areas and banging your head against a wall.

For reference I used different photos and prints: there are no perfect translation of the original physical object, so you work with what you can, making your own interpretation in the process. Flipping images and playing with contrast, grayscale and other effects using phone apps helps accentuate different aspects of the painting. The great masters themselves used the most modern technologies as aids in painting (like complicated mirror setups).

The biggest challenge in this study was getting a three-dimensional look to the ornamented helmet without losing the subtle details. I got the feeling that in the original painting a lot of details were added in a slapdash, intuitive manner. Deconstructing those shape and color choices was a real head-scratcher.

I found the original painting in a Berlin gallery. My version was larger and less dark! No problem, a master study need not be a 1:1 copy. You are trying to make the artist a part of you, not turn yourself into them.

(Actually art historians aren't sure if it actually was made by Rembrandt or by someone in his inner circle. Either way, an amazing painting.)