Copyright by Laura Mareike Sager 2006 - The University of Texas at ...

However, “Rembrandt’s” words to his agent make it clear that he is painting his
deceased wife wearing the necklace he had purchased in the first scene. His words
thus constitute another brief attributive ekphrasis, possibly of Saskia with a
flower, in which she is wearing a necklace, within the overall interpretive
ekphrasis of the The Painter in his Studio.
While “Rembrandt” is working, his agent brings in a messenger from the
Prince of Orange, sent to convey the majesties’ sympathies for his wife’s death.
But so absorbed, so concentrated is the artist on his work that he hardly listens or
notices. The interpretive ekphrasis of The Painter in his Studio further serves to
underscore “Rembrandt’s” extreme concentration, which Charles Laughton also
mimics by imitating the raised eyebrows in Rembrandt’s painting. The paragone
of Rembrandt’s original self portrait, which emphasizes the artist’s intellectual
work and depicts artistic creation as mental rather than manual labor, is thus
transferred in the film to a cinematic paragone: Korda uses The Painter in the
Studio for his own creation and characterization of “Rembrandt,” as well as for
his focus on “Rembrandt’s” creation of both Saskia and his own public image.
Moreover, unlike the painting itself, the film is able to add a before and after,
showing the process of painting.
The Late Self Portraits in Screenplay and Film
Neither the drama nor the film has any significant ekphrases of self
portraits during the middle scenes which represent “Rembrandt’s” gradual
downfall and disgrace. It is only after his mistress Hendrickje’s death, when
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