This engaging portrait shows a bearded old man wearing a cap after a design by Rembrandt, perhaps of his father (?). Part of a series of “tronies” inspired by works by Rembrandt, van Vliet’s interpretation enlists the dramatic contrasts of light and dark in each of these etchings. Tronies were “stock characters” or character studies—in some cases they featured grotesque or elderly figures, often wearing exotic or historical costumes.
