The Sense Of Sight

Rembrandt completed this allegory of sight around 1624-1625, when he was still a teenager in Leiden. A woman squints while trying on a pair of spectacles offered by a vendor. Three figures crowd the small panel, their expressions capturing the moment of testing new lenses. It belongs to a series depicting the five senses.

These are Rembrandt's earliest known paintings, showing notable skill for an eighteen-year-old. Four of the five senses have been identified; only Taste remains lost. The Spectacle Seller demonstrates Rembrandt's early gift for representing human character through small, telling details. The work held at the Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden.