Bust of a Bearded Young Man with a Skullcap

This portrait from 1663, a particularly productive year for Rembrandt, is likely to have been of a friend or family member

The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, USA holds this small portrait that measures 65.8cm tall and 57.5cm wide. The background is simple and deliberately avoids during one's attention, whilst the figure is darkened himself, other than his face.

A closer inspection of the facial features, beautifully drawn out by the artist's legendary mastering of light, reveals a finely detailed area of the canvas, where the artist would invest the most time and care. Models with more distinguishing features, such as aged skin or other imperfections, would offer more interest and opportunty to the artist.

The majority of Rembrandt's paintings remain in Europe and so it is a good opportunity for those in Texas to see this particular work without having to go far. The high profile of this artist also means that his original work comes up for sale only very rarely.

The Kimbell insititution was set up as recently as 1972 and, as such, their collection is considered relatively small at around 350 artworks. That said, the level of quality is highly impressive, as is the list of some of the artists featured here. For example, you can enjoy original paintings by the likes of Velázquez, Poussin, Piet Mondrian, Georges Braque, Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso. The highest profile work would be The Torment of Saint Anthony, Michelangelo's very first known painting.