Rembrandt's nose: of flesh & spirit in the master's portraits

Group portrait of a man and a dog, both looking out of place

"Without a nose, a man is no longer a man"

A nose like the latex stock of a Hollywood makeup artist

"This is painting, not just the pits and pores of flesh"

An old man slumped in a wooden armchair, a widow who surrenders to no weakness

"And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight"

Like hounds closing in for a kill

Mournful nostrils through which breath would never pass again

Patrician beaks and an old lady's lumpish stout

Plumb breasts, firm skin, and a profile that makes you want to cry

The highlight on the tip of the nose

An old man's rasping exhalations, an infant's purling breath

Chronology.