Self-Portrait as Zeuxis Portraying an Ugly Old Woman, 1685

About the Work

While portraying a richly dressed elderly woman, Arent de Gelder grins at the viewer. He portrays himself in the role of the ancient painter Zeuxis, who, as legend has it, choked on a fit of laughter, overcome by the ugliness and inappropriate fashion of his client’s clothes! With his palette reduced to brown and orange tones and a coarse application of paint, de Gelder follows his teacher Rembrandt’s late work, which had already become unfashionable by 1685. Economically independent, he could afford such a commentary against the contemporary ideal of beauty.