{"id":48318,"date":"2025-04-25T03:24:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T03:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/48318\/"},"modified":"2025-04-25T03:24:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T03:24:12","slug":"rembrandt-works-called-into-question-by-experts-in-the-netherlands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/48318\/","title":{"rendered":"Rembrandt works called into question by experts in the Netherlands"},"content":{"rendered":"

Conservators at The Mauritshuis gallery in the Hague, Netherlands, say that three paintings in the museum\u2019s collection initially attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn were probably made or copied by the 17th-century artist\u2019s employees and students. <\/p>\n

The museum owns seven works by the Dutch Old Master, along with seven paintings that were purchased as Rembrandts, but which have now been \u201cwritten off or are strongly called into question\u201d. Final verdicts, however, have so far only been issued for three works.<\/p>\n

The first to be reassessed is the artist\u2019s self-portrait, Portrait of Rembrandt with a Gorget (around 1629), which was acquired by William V, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, in 1768.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

An underdrawing was discovered beneath Portrait of Rembrandt with a Gorget’s layers of paint<\/p>\n

Courtesy of The Mauritshuis gallery <\/p>\n

\u201cIt all started with the discovery of an underdrawing beneath the paint layers. Nothing like that had ever been seen before in a work by Rembrandt,\u201d the museum explains in a statement. \u201cThis prompted further investigation, and it was eventually found that our Rembrandt is the copy and the painting in Nuremberg [housed at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum] turned out to be the original by Rembrandt himself.\u201d <\/p>\n

The second work analysed was Tronie of an Old Man (around 1630). Abraham Bredius, the former director of the Mauritshuis, bought the painting for his own collection in 1892 but loaned it to the museum. Bredius referred to his acquisition as \u201cprobably the most interesting painting of Rembrandt\u2019s father\u201d, known as Harmen Gerritsz van Rijn.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tronie of an Old Man (around 1630), described as \u201cprobably the most interesting painting of Rembrandt\u2019s father\u201d<\/p>\n

Courtesy of The Mauritshuis gallery <\/p>\n

However, a drawing of Harmen Gerrits Van Rijn was unearthed showing him with a wide nose and a full beard, looking different from the father figure depicted in the painting. Further technical analysis also shows that the background was overpainted long after it was finished. The museum subsequently says that this work could be \u201cby a student or employee of Rembrandt\u2019s, or by the master himself. The mystery remains unsolved.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final piece, Study of an Old Man (around 1655), is the most intriguing work, as it is signed by Rembrandt. Bredius was \u201cdelighted\u201d when the Mauritshuis purchased the painting, which depicts the artist\u2019s brother Adriaen van Rijn, in 1891.<\/p>\n

It was not unusual for a master to sign the work of a student, says the museum. \u201cIf it was painted at Rembrandt\u2019s studio, it was his \u2018product\u2019. With Rembrandt\u2019s signature, a painting by a student could be sold as if it were a piece by the master.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Study of an Old Man (around 1655) is signed by Rembrandt\u2014although this doesn’t rule out the work having been completed by his studio<\/p>\n

Courtesy of The Mauritshuis gallery <\/p>\n

The museum adds that during recent conservation work, restorers found that the date was applied later using a different paint, stressing that the year is not written in Rembrandt\u2019s handwriting.<\/p>\n

There are also technical issues. \u201cIf you look at Rembrandt\u2019s Self-Portrait (1669) and Homer (1663) you will see that every brushstroke is just right. Study of an Old Man is less accomplished. We believe that it is the work of a student attempting to imitate the style of the master.\u201d<\/p>\n

All three paintings are on show in the exhibition Rembrandt? (17 April-13 July).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Conservators at The Mauritshuis gallery in the Hague, Netherlands, say that three paintings in the museum\u2019s collection initially…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48319,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3939],"tags":[4021,4020,3928,4022,77,12441,26280,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-48318","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-conservation","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-rembrandt","14":"tag-the-hague","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114396467285496665","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}