OIL PAINTING: Portrait of Agatha Bas, 1621
Rembrandt introduced a new way of composition in this painting: Agatha Bas is depicted in a frame of painted ebony, which blurs the boundaries between the imaginary space within the composition and the outside world. The feeling of direct contact with the sitter is achieved in part by the striking gesture of the hand against the frame and in part by the fan protruding from the edge towards the viewer's space. Reducing the canvas size early has greatly reduced this illusory effect.