The plate was not part of any of the early sales or collections and is probably not in existence.

This small plate is one of the earliest self-portraits in which Rembrandt is clearly experimenting with the light coming from right below. The deep, broad lines indicate that the plate has been in the acid for a long (too long?) period. The oval cadre is made by using a roulette and may have been added later. It could be meant to be the image of a mirror. In contrast with B 11, which was long considered a self-portrait until it was identified as a portrait of his son Titus, this etching was originally considered to be a portrait of Titus. Like in the De Burghy sale of 1755 (lot 3) in which, according to Yver, an impression was labelled Titus, de zoon van Rembrant, heel raar (Titus the son of Rembrandt, very rare).

In his early years Rembrandt made three painted self-portraits in which he leaves his face in the dark, obviously as an experiment with light and shadow. The concept of adding an oval frame may come from Rembrandt’s teacher Pieter Lastman, who did a similar thing in a drawn portrait of his brother Nicolas (1613, now in the Lugt Collection). Much later, in 1646, Rembrandt will use the oval again in a portrait of Jan Cornelius Sylvius (B 280, NH 235).

There are two copies in the same direction. Copy A is by Leopold Flameng, included in the catalogue of Blanc (1859-61, p. 153 II, 65 x 52 mm, WB 1). An impression is included in the collection ‘Rembrandt in B&W’ as number 394. Copy B is by Francis Seymour Haden, included in his monograph of 1880 (64 x 51 mm, WB 2).

The plate was made by a pupil according to Seidlitz, Campbell Dodgson and Singer.
The plate is not by Rembrandt according to Coppier and Michel.

One state only. The 2nd state listed by some authors is almost certainly a cut down version of the 1st state (NU).

Four impressions are known, only one of these, in the British Museum (R48), is complete. The other three, in the Lugt Collection (Paris), the British Museum (R49) and the Rijksmuseum, are cut and were long considered a 2nd state.

H 261, BB 56-1, G 15, M 165, Mz 74, RA 46-47, Cl 11, W 11, Bl 236, Du 11, CD 219
Rembrandt by himself 1999, p. 102-103; Hinterding 2008, nr. 6, p. 49-50; Baas 2015, p. 54-55;