Rembrandt was given no subject, and painted a philosopher envying a poet.
A Sicilian nobleman ordered a painting from Rembrandt without saying what it should show. Rembrandt delivered Aristotle, wearing a gold chain, with his hand resting on a bust of blind Homer. In 1961 the Met paid 2.3 million dollars for it, then the highest price ever paid for a picture.
In 1653 Don Antonio Ruffo, a Sicilian aristocrat, commissioned a painting from Rembrandt for his collection without requesting any particular subject. What arrived was a thoughtful man wearing a gold chain, one hand resting on a sculpted bust of the poet Homer. Ruffo planned a companion piece by the Italian painter Guercino, who chose a cosmographer to pair the study of the heavens with Rembrandt's study of humanity; that picture has disappeared.
Because no subject was specified, the sitter's identity has been argued over. Suggestions have included Albertus Magnus, the poets Tasso, Ariosto and Virgil, and the Dutch poet Hooft; the historian Simon Schama made a case for the ancient painter Apelles. In 1969 the art historian Julius Held made the case for Aristotle, pointing to his long hair, beard and fine clothes in other images of the philosopher, and to his links with Homer and Alexander: Aristotle, commented on Homer, and the chain would be Alexander the Great's gift.
What is it about? One reading sees methodical science deferring to art. Another sees the famous, wealthy philosopher, loaded with honours, looking with something like envy at the poor, blind bard whose fame will outlast any chain. Held noted that Aristotle's right hand, on Homer, is higher and more brightly lit than his left, on the chain. Others stress the shadow over the eyes, which leaves us guessing at his thoughts, and invites us to contemplate with him.
The painting passed through British and French collections before the Metropolitan Museum of Art bought it in 1961 for 2.3 million dollars, at the time the most ever paid for any picture at public or private sale. The Met renamed it Aristotle with a Bust of Homer in 2013. Joseph Heller built his 1988 novel Picture This around it.
Source: Wikipedia — Aristotle with a Bust of Homer · Text summarised from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
