Perhaps, at the end of his life the Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn could think so looking at the picture “The Self-Portrait with Saskia” which he had painted many years before.

In his young years Rembrandt painted a lot of portraits. The clients liked the pictures as their resemblance to the original was astonishing. And Rembrandt had no rivals regarding speed at which he painted. But it was insufficient for the artist. He wanted the portrait to absorb not only the present but also the past of a person.