Rembrandt-penning, 1988 1988

This bronze medal, Rembrandt-penning, was made by Vincent Pieter Semeyn Esser in 1988. I love the dark, earthy tones here, a kind of controlled chaos in bronze. Just looking at it, I can imagine Esser’s hands, the pressure he must have applied, the tools he used. The texture is everything, isn't it? On the one side, a face emerges, almost swallowed by the medium, while the other offers an abstract form. I think the artist, like any artist, was in conversation with Rembrandt, referencing the master, but using a totally different medium! It makes me think about the physicality of art-making, how each impression, each mark, is a record of an action, a thought, a feeling. Even in something as seemingly fixed as bronze, there's so much room for improvisation, for the unexpected. Esser is reminding us that art is about exchange—between the artist and the material, between artists across time, between the artwork and the viewer.