Aristotle with a Bust of Homer
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606 to 1669) · 1653
Out of a warm darkness a bearded man in a wide brimmed hat and a shimmering white shirt rests his hand on the marble head of a blind poet. The man is Aristotle, the philosopher, and the bust is Homer. A heavy gold chain hangs across the philosopher's chest, and from it dangles a medallion bearing the profile of Alexander the Great, the pupil who made Aristotle rich. The philosopher's face is turned towards the poet, but his eyes look inward. He seems to be weighing what the blind singer knew against everything the great and powerful have given him.
Rembrandt painted the picture in his late manner, with the light concentrated on the sleeve, the hand and the two faces and the rest of the canvas dissolving into brown shadow. Stand close and the sleeve becomes a thicket of thick strokes and scraped paint; step back and it turns to silk. The chain is built from dabs of pure yellow and white. The costume is a fantasy of sixteenth century dress, not ancient Greek, because Rembrandt was interested in the mood of learning and melancholy rather than archaeology.
The painting was commissioned by a Sicilian nobleman, Antonio Ruffo, who wanted a philosopher for his collection and let Rembrandt choose the subject. It passed through many hands before the Met bought it at auction in 1961 for two point three million dollars, then the highest price ever paid for any painting. The purchase made front page news and turned this quiet meditation on fame and wisdom into one of the most famous pictures in America.
Did You Know? Ruffo liked the painting so much that he ordered two companions from Rembrandt, an Alexander and a Homer; the Homer survives in The Hague.
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