Rembrandt von Rijn, "Portrait of Pastor Swalmius" (1637), Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp
Short post today — Even though he has been dead for 340 years, Rembrandt has become quite prolific throughout the years. Already this year three paintings have been newly attributed to his brush . . . . that’s more than some contemporary artists paint in the same amount of time. As recently as this June it was announced that a painting which had been thought to be just a knockoff was actually a self-portrait of the master laughing.
Now, it was announced this week that another painting, the Portrait of Pastor Swalmius, has been attibuted to Rembrandt. Previously it had been thought to be the work of one of his many pupils and its true creator had merely been a point of conjecture. “There was a very dark varnish on the painting so subtleties within it were not visible anymore and after time people thought it wasn’t genuine,” museum spokeswoman Veronique van Passel told the BBC News website. But after many layers of varnish were removed the master’s signature was revealed. Additionally, The Rembrandt Research Project confirmed the painting’s authenticity after tests showed it was made from the same piece of linen as two other genuine Rembrandts – one on display in Frankfurt and the other in St Petersburg.
After all these discoveries, maybe this will also be the year that another Rembrandt will be re-discovered.
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