Few devotees of the form can approach Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn 's radical contributions to self-portraiture. Challenging the conventions enshrined by his predecessors, Rembrandt transformed the art into a fully realized medium capable of communicating emotional depth rather than favorably immortalizing one's likeness in the finest trappings of luxury. With more than 80 works spanning paintings, etchings, and drawings , the Dutchman's lifelong practice of self-portraiture functions as a means of concretizing that which is fleeting . Across four decades, one constant is particularly striking across media and styles-Rembrandt's dedication to presenting himself from multiple perspectives, celebrating the multiplicity of the individual and championing the unfiltered portrayal of emotional expression . Apart from the thematic concerns present within Rembrandt's suite of self-portraits, the works themselves are rich with technical innovation and experimentation . There is an unmistakable humanity present across the entirety of this oeuvre, each expressive brushstroke and obfuscated feature amounting to an unflinchingly honest characterization of himself , in all his foibles, contrasting states of feeling, and stages of life. This monograph renders all of Rembrandt's self-portraits - from his first experimentations at age twenty-two to his final self-portrait painted a year before his death - and stands testament to a life committed to revolutionizing painterly practice both in content and form .