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Dutch art dealer Jan Six purchased a 17-century portrait back in 2016 at a Christie’s auction in London. The painting showed a young, unidentified man, wearing a luxurious cloak with a lace collar. At the time, experts said that it belonged to the “school of Rembrandt.” However, as an expert in Old Masters paintings, Six suspected from the get go that his purchase might be an actual Rembrandt. Now, after about 18 months of research, he finally proved that his initial suspicion was correct. The painting called Portrait of a Young Gentleman indeed belong to the famous Dutch artist.
A large number of Rembrandt experts are sure that the painting belongs to Rembrandt himself and if it’s true, this is the first of his works to come to light in about 44 years. According to the experts’ theories, Rembrandt created the portrait in 1634 or 1635, when he was in his 20s. Interestingly enough, the work seems to have been cut from a much larger painting that also had the man’s wife. Before Six discovered it, this portrait was completely unknown to the art world and nobody knew it even exited.
A new Rembrandt came to light
Moreover, there are no literary references to it anywhere. The last time a Rembrandt was discovered it was in 1974, when The Baptism of the Eunuch was revealed to have been made by the Dutch painter. Six also had a special connection with the master painter because his ancestor, also called Jan Six, sat for one of his portraits.
He immediately recognized some small details and suspected that the portrait must have been one of Rembrandt’s. He was right and after months of analysis, he proved his point. Those who are in Amsterdam can see the portrait at the city’s Hermitage museum until June 15. After that, Six wants to sell the painting because now, it may be worth millions.
Image source: wikimedia
