LatinosUSA

Hi everyone, it’s Robbie Cheadle here with you today with the November post in the Famous Artworks series on LatinosUSA – English Edition.

This post is another collaboration with the wonderful Resa McConaghy and shares some information about Rembrandt’s head studies, called tronies, which he created together with his studio mate, Jan Lievens (1607 – 1674).

Rather than painting a specific individual, tronies focused on types including older men and women with faces full of character. Some models appear multiple times in these works and were sometimes even used as the basis for characters for larger biblical paintings. Their identifies are not know.

The photographs are by Resa and were taken during her visit to the the Art Gallery of Ontario to see The Impressionist Revolution: Monet to Matisse exhibition.

My photographs of Rembrandt’s famous The Wardens of the Amsterdam Drapers’ Guild known as ‘The Syndics’ appear after the tronies.

Rembrandt’s tronies by Resa

First Painting – Head of Old Man with Curly Hair (circa 1659) oil on wood

Second Painting – Head of Bearded Man (circa 1657) Oil on Wood (A study for St. Matthew)

Third painting – Portrait of Rembrandt’s Mother by Jan Lievens (circa 1630) Oil on Wood

The Syndics by Rembrandt

The The Syndics (also known as The Sampling Officials or De Staalmeesters) is a famous 1662 oil painting by Rembrandt van Rijn. The Sitters: Five wardens of the Amsterdam cloth guild (drapers) and their servant. From left to right, the officials are Jacob van Loon, Volckert Jansz, Willem van Doeyenburg, Aernout van der Mye, and Jochem de Neve, with the servant Frans Hendricksz Bel standing in the back

Finale

I’m finishing this post with a smile. I undertook a study when I was making fondant figurines of how to include facial and body details to create an age effect.

About Resa McConaghy

My name is Resa McConaghy. I’m a semi-retired Costume Designer for film and television.

My first Art Gown “Strawberry Kisses” was to create some beauty in my life after mom died. It was a hit with people, so I continued to make and post more “Art Gowns”.

At some early point, I began upcycling, repurposing and in general making the gowns out of any fabric or notions that were not new goods. I was using up anything headed for landfill.

The Art Gowns are available to borrow or rent (situation dependant) for Gala’s, photo shoots and film production.

Resa’s Costume Design website: https://resamcconaghy.com/

Resa’s Art Gown blog: https://artgowns.com/2025/11/22/held-inside-the-folds-of-time/

Res’as Graffiti Lux Art & More blog: https://graffitiluxandmurals.com/2025/11/29/gal-lery-i/

Resa has a fantastic book. You can find out more about it here: https://graffitiluxandmurals.com/artists/

About Robbie Cheadle

South African author, photographer, and artist, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated seventeen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, written and illustrated four poetry books and written and illustrated one celebration of cake and fondant art book with recipes. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.

Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

Social Media Links

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/robbiecheadle.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVyFo_OJLPqFa9ZhHnCfHUA
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15584446.Robbie_Cheadle
TSL Publications: https://tslbooks.uk/product-tag/robbie-cheadle/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robbie-Cheadle/author/B01N9J62GQ
Unsplash profile: https://unsplash.com/@r_cheadle