Studio of Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn

Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 2 March 1860, lot 79 (as by Rembrandt);
Hugh Kerr Cokburne, Hampstead;
With D. Katz, Dieren, by 1937;
Anonymous sale, Amsterdam, Frederik Muller, 24 June 1959, lot 20;
Anonymous sale, Amsterdam, Christie's, 12 June 1990, lot 225 (as by a follower of Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn).

The actual painting is softer in tone than the catalogue illustration suggests. The single panel is uncradled and flat, and very lightly bevelled on all sides. Three thin vertical retouched cracks, each of approx. 15 cm., are visible running along the right edge in the upper and lower corners, and one closer to the centre, running from the upper edge. Two smaller ones are visible in the left half of the painting from the upper and lower edges. The impasto and texture of the paint layer is very nicely preserved, particularly in the face and gorget. A few tiny discoloured retouchings can be observed in the upper centre and in the coat lower centre, The paint surface is under a discoloured and uneven layer of varnish. Inspection under Ultra-Violet light is largely impeded by the dirty varnish layer, but there's possibly some strengthening of the gorget and the feather underneath. This lot is offered unframed. (MW)
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Many of the features of this portrait, such as the use of a pose similar to many of the master's self-portraits, the ever present chiaroscuro and the much used studio props such as the gorget and the feathered hat, suggest that its author trained in the studio of Rembrandt.¹ The round features of the face, the pinkish flesh tones and the sfumatesque way of conceiving the shadow parts, are reminiscent of the early work of Govaert Flinck (1615-1660). Flinck probably joined Rembrandt's studio around 1633-4, where he would have met painters as Jacob Backer (1608-1651), Ferdinand Bol (1616-1680) and Jan Victors (1619-1676) among others. As no sources are known when Flinck left the studio and his first signed painting, a portrait of Jonas Jacob Leeuwen Dircksz., is dated 1636², we can assume that this must be the timespan he worked in Rembrandt's studio. Although the present painting is not signed, it bears comparison with Flinck's works from 1636 onwards, such as the Portrait of a man, signed and dated 1637, today in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg.³

We are grateful to Prof. Dr. Volker Manuth for tentatively suggesting an attribution to Govaert Flinck, possibly dating from the late 1630s, on the basis of first hand inspection.

1. Compare the possible self-portrait of Rembrandt the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, inv. no. 808.
2. See J.W von Moltke, Govaert Flinck, 1615-1660, Amsterdam 1965, p. 108, no. 211, reproduced plate 39.
3. Von Moltke, op. cit., p. 121, no. 263, reproduced plate 35.