The key facts

  • The Poor Man's Rembrandt project, first launched in 2023, has returned by popular demand and takes place in the house where Rembrandt lived and worked.
  • AP correspondent Mike Corder got a tattoo based on the etching 'Self-Portrait in a Cap, Wide-Eyed and Open-Mouthed' (1630) from artist Henk Schifmacher (Hanky Panky).
  • The project runs until November 7.

Rembrandt's etchings become tattoos

In the Netherlands, the project has been revived Poor Man's Rembrandt ('Rembrandt for the Poor'), first launched in 2023 and brought back 'by popular demand.' Tattoo artists are working in the house where Rembrandt once lived and created, transferring his works onto participants' skin. Euronews reports.

An AP correspondent under the needle of a master with 45 years of experience

Among the participants is Associated Press correspondent Mike Corder, who covered the project's first launch without ever imagining that one day he would get a tattoo himself. This time he sat in the chair of the renowned Dutch artist Henk Schifmacher, known as Hanky Panky, to reproduce on his arm Rembrandt's 1630 etching 'Self-Portrait in a Cap, Wide-Eyed and Open-Mouthed.' About half an hour later, the wide-open eyes of the young artist were permanently transferred onto the journalist's skin. Schifmacher, whose career spans more than 45 years and whose portfolio includes Lady Gaga and members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, bears the nickname 'Poor Man's Rembrandt' as a sign that he considers tattoo an art form that accompanies its owner for life. Upon finishing the work, he jokingly welcomed Corder into the 'world of freaks'; the journalist himself was pleased with the result, noting only mild soreness.

What the museum says and why the project is interesting

Museum director Milou Halbesma noted that Rembrandt's self-portraits are distinguished by rare honesty: the artist captured every wrinkle and imperfection, including his own. The project brings together two different artistic traditions — centuries-old graphic art and contemporary body art. For visitors, it is a rare opportunity to receive a 'museum' piece literally on their own bodies: unlike an exhibition, the result stays with a person forever, which is exactly what Schifmacher plays on in his interpretation of the tattoo as lifelong art. The project will run until November 7.