Whom did Rembrandt portray in this strangely moving and disquieting work? Are the unnaturally large eyes of the sitter, his hollow cheeks with protruding cheekbones, and the pallor of his face the symptoms of illness? The accessories add to the enigmatic character of the painting: the base of a column behind the head, a green curtain covering most of the background, and particularly the woman’s face emerging phantom-like from dark shadows at the right. Although the pupils of the eyes seem to be indicated, the features are without the color of life, oddly rigid and inanimate. Faint traces of a pedestal, visible only on close inspection, lead to the conclusion that the face is that of a stone or plaster bust.
The man is shown in a relaxed position, his right arm resting on what may be the back of a chair. He has been reading from the manuscript which he holds in his hands, but he now pauses and looks up, gazing not at us but out into the vague distance as though thinking or dreaming. The full light on his face draws our attention to the head as the primary center of the painting, but its fascinating, intermittent play on hands, manuscript, the lace-trimming of the sleeves, and the bust in the background creates a peripheral area of interest. Thus our eyes cannot help oscillating back and forth: manuscript and bust are brought into close relationship with the man and become objects of great significance. They must have some special meaning which we are unable to read fully until the sitter has been identified. The writing on the manuscript is of no help; except for the signature of the artist and the year 1658, both clearly readable, it consists of meaningless scribbles. Nor has anyone solved the puzzle of the female bust: could it be a piece of classical sculpture? But here can hardly be much doubt that the sitter is a writer, probably a poet or dramatist. It is tempting to speculate that the ghostly character of the portrait, suggestive of doom and death, and the profound melancholy of the man are meant to reflect the prevailing mood and message of his work, thus giving a clue to his identity, but so far no acceptable proposal has been made.
