PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR
REMBRANDT HARMENSZ. VAN RIJN | SELF-PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST, HALF-LENGTH, WEARING A RUFF AND A BLACK HAT
Estimate: 12,000,000 - 16,000,000 GBP
Description
Property of a Private Collector
REMBRANDT HARMENSZ. VAN RIJN
Leiden 1606 - 1669 Amsterdam
SELF-PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST, HALF-LENGTH, WEARING A RUFF AND A BLACK HAT
signed and dated: Rembrant · ft./ 1632 (centre right)
oil on oak panel
21.8 by 16.3 cm.; 8⅝ by 6⅜ in.
Condition Report
The following condition report is provided by Hamish Dewar who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's:
Structural Condition
The artist's panel is uncradled and is structurally sound and secure with an even profile. The
reverse of the panel is inscribed 'AG'.
Paint Surface
The paint surface has an even varnish layer.
Inspection under ultraviolet light shows scattered retouchings which are concentrated in the
black pigments of the artist's hat and costume and in particular in the lower right of his black
cloak. There is also a very small spot on the artist's white collar and a very thin vertical line
though his moustache. It should be stressed that these retouchings all appear to have been
very carefully applied and that the fine details of the painting, and of the face in particular,
appear to be very well preserved with minimal inpainting.
Summary
The painting would therefore appear to be in good and stable condition and no further work is
required.
"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."
Saleroom Notice
Provenance
Vinot sale, Paris (Mannheim, Chevalier), 26–30 January 1891, to Henry Robert Brand, 2nd Viscount Hampden (according to a label on the reverse)
Thence by descent to Leila Emily, Viscountess Hampden, wife of Thomas Henry, 4th Viscount Hampden (d. 1965)
By whom anonymously sold ('The Property of a Lady'), London, Sotheby's, 8 April 1970, lot 20 (as Rembrandt), for £650 to Leegenhoek
J.O. Leegenhoek, Paris
By whom given to his wife
By whom sold in March 1996 to a private collector
By whom sold via Robert Noortman to a private collector, New York
By whom sold to Noortman Master Paintings
From whom acquired for the present collection on 20 September 2005
Literature
E. van de Wetering, Rembrandt: The Painter at Work, Amsterdam 1997, p. 4 and reproduced on the title page and inside the dust jacket
G. Schwartz, ‘De herijking van een Rembrandt’, in Het Financieele Dagblad, 5 November 1997, p. 2; and ‘Auteurschap versus kwaliteit in de nieuwe Rembrandt’, in Het Financieele Dagblad, 13 November 1997, p. 2; and in German ‘Holz vom selben Stamm: der Trend hat sich umgekehrt: wieder ein Neuzugang zum Werk Rembrandts’, in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 6 November 1997, p. 41
P. Huys Janssen, 'Rembrandt en zijn werkplaats', in PAN Amsterdam: Art and Antiques Fair of the Low Countries. Catalogue of the annual art fair, Amsterdam 1998, p. 29, reproduced fig. 1
E. van de Wetering, in Rembrandt by himself (Rembrandt zelf), C. White and Q. Buvelot (eds), exh. cat., London 1999, pp. 148–49, no. 34, reproduced
T. Ketelsen in S. Giesen and T. Ketelsen, Rembrandt, oder nicht? Die Gemälde (published on the occasion of the eponymous exhibition at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg), Ostfildern-Ruit 2000, p. 9, reproduced p. 9, fig. 1.
E. van de Wetering (ed.), Stichting Foundation Rembrandt Research Project, A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings, vol. IV, Dordrecht 2005, pp. 199–206, 609–15, Addendum 1, reproduced p. 203, fig. 185, 610, figs 1–7
J. van der Veen, in F. Lammertse and J. van der Veen, Uylenburgh & Son, (published on the occasion of the eponymous exhibition at the Rembrandthuis, Amsterdam and the Dulwich Picture Gallery, London), Zwolle 2006, p. 135, reproduced p. 134, fig. 78
E. van de Wetering (ed.), Stichting Foundation Rembrandt Research Project, A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings, vol. VI, Dordrecht 2015, pp. 514–15, no. 69, reproduced p. 133, no. 69
E. van de Wetering, Rembrandt's Paintings Revisited, A Complete Survey, Dordrecht 2017, vol. 1 p. 133, no. 69, vol. 2, pp. 514-15, no. 69.
V. Manuth & M. de Winkel, Rembrandt, Cologne 2019, pp. 190, 606, no. 151, reproduced
V. Manuth & M. de Winkel, Rembrandt. The Self-Portraits, Cologne 2019, pp. 8, 76–77, reproduced, with detail
Exhibited
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, 4–11 November 1997 (exhibition to promote the book Rembrandt: The Painter at Work)
London, National Gallery, Rembrandt by Himself, 9 June – 5 September 1999
The Hague, Mauritshuis, Rembrandt zelf, 25 September 1999 – 9 January 2000, no. 34
