Portrait of a Man(Rembrandt van Rijn)

Portrait of a Man(Rembrandt van Rijn)

Portrait of a Man

Artist:Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) (Dutch, Leiden 1606–1669 Amsterdam)
Date:1632
Medium:Oil on wood
Dimensions:Oval, 29 3/4 x 20 1/2 in. (75.6 x 52.1 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Gift of Mrs. Lincoln Ellsworth, in memory of Lincoln Ellsworth, 1964

This portrait dating from Rembrandt's first year in Amsterdam is remarkable for its quality and condition. The subtleties of light and texture found in the rugged face and wispy hair, in the parchmentlike layers of the ruff, and even in the black costume are effects that the artist had gradually mastered in his native Leiden during the preceding few years.

Provenance

Claude Tolozan, Paris (until d. 1796; his estate sale, Paillet, Paris, February 25, 1801, no. 96, for Fr 4,001 to Naudou for Roëttiers de Montaleau); Alexandre-Louis Roëttiers de Montaleau, Paris (until 1802; his sale, Paillet, Paris, July 23, 1802, no. 130, for Fr 8,000 to [?Robit for] Collot); Collot, Paris (1802–55; sale, Hôtel des Ventes, Paris, May 25–26, 1852, no. 26, as a portrait of Nicolas Tulp, bought in; his estate sale, Hôtel des Ventes Mobilières, Paris, March 29, 1855, no. 22, as a portrait of Nicolas Tulp, for Fr 16,000 to his son); baron Achille Seillière, Paris (until d. 1873); his daughter, Jeanne Marguerite Seillière, princesse de Sagan, Paris (1873–at least 1885; sold to Ellsworth?); James Ellsworth, Chicago and New York (by 1889–d. 1925); his son, Lincoln Ellsworth, New York (1925–d. 1951); his widow, Mrs. Lincoln Ellsworth, New York (1951–64; life interest, 1964–d. 1993)

Copyright Image
https://images.metmuseum.org