Two tiny portraits of Rembrandtwhich for 200 years remained unfindable to the world and were recently sold at auction for 14 million dollars, began to be exhibited this Wednesday at the Rijksmuseum from Amsterdam, along with other works by the artist.
The oval portraits, 20 centimeters high, depicting an elderly plumber named Jan Willemsz van der Pluym and his wife Jaapgen Carels, are especially significant not only because of their small size, but also because These people belonged to the artist’s inner circle and they had a family connection with Rembrandt himself.
The couple, painted in 1936 in an unusually intimate style for Rembrandt, were friends of the artist’s family and came from his hometown of Leiden in the Netherlands.
These are the smallest known portraits of the 17th century Dutch master.which transcended due to its larger works commissioned by wealthy families.
The portraits were acquired in July this year by the Holterman family at a Christie’s auction for more than £11 million and were loaned to the Rijksmuseum on a long-term loan.
“The Rijksmuseum has the largest and most representative collection of Rembrandt paintings in the world,” said its owner, Henry Holterman, in a statement. “I think these works belong in the museum,” he added.
Using X-rays, infrared photography and analysis of paint samples, experts from the Rijksmuseum demonstrated that the portraits were indeed painted by Rembrandt, reported the AFP news agency.
Who are the protagonists of Rembrandt’s portraits?
In 1977, Isabel van Eeghenarchivist of the city of Amsterdam, identified the models of these works as Jan and Jaapgen, based on the catalog of an auction of 1760. The man portrayed was a wealthy slater and plumber from Leiden who in 1591 married Jaapgen Caerlsdr and Since then, the work has remained in the family until this year, which added pedigree to the pieces.
The portraits also present a style similar to other works painted by Rembrandt at the time, “especially in the construction of the facial features and the loose brushwork,” the museum noted.
The deposit of the precious portraits to the Rijksmuseum not only demonstrates how alive patronage is in the countries of northern Europe but also the economic capacity of these patrons who paid 11.1 million euros less than a year ago for the couple.
Source: Ambito
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