# Self-portrait as the Apostle Paul

- By: Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden, 1606–1669)
- Date: 1661
- Medium: canvas, oil paint (paint)
- Classification: painting
- Dimensions: height 91 cm x width 77 cm
- Credit line: De Bruijn-van der Leeuw Bequest, Muri, Switzerland
- Museum: [Rijksmuseum](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/SK-A-4050--4faa97ed774e6e3f81b76cf3aed6226d)
- Rights: [Public Domain Mark](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)
- Picture: https://iiif.micr.io/wqcDn/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Rembrandt is 55 years old in this self-portrait, and he still looks at himself candidly. Here he assumes the guise of a personage from the Bible, the Apostle Paul. The sword protruding from his cloak and the manuscript in his hands are the apostle’s customary attributes. By using his own face, Rembrandt encouraged the viewer to engage personally with the saint.