Rembrandt in the Mauritshuis: Work in Progress

Rembrandt van Rijn,  Saul and David,  ca. 1651–54 and ca. 1655–58,  The Hague, Mauritshuis

The curators and conservators at the Mauritshuis have long been engaged with an intensive study of the paintings by Rembrandt in the permanent collection. Much of the research that has been done at the Mauritshuis has been undertaken in the last decades. The challenging treatment of Saul and David is the latest of many restorations of paintings by or attributed to Rembrandt by the Mauritshuis, presently the proud owner of eleven accepted works by Rembrandt. For some works that had been seriously doubted in the past, including The Laughing Man and Tronie of a Man with a Feathered Beret, these restorations provided essential information that helped to secure their attribution to the great master. One of the paintings that has not been cleaned and restored recently is a painting that for a long time was accepted as an early self-portrait by Rembrandt (inv. 148). The attribution of the painting, now seen as a studio copy after Rembrandt, can hopefully be fine-tuned in the future. At least two works that are attributed to Rembrandt and usually kept in storage deserve more attention from the museum’s conservators and curators: one is the tronie of an old man (inv. 565), another is the study of an old man (inv. 560), which bears a signature and date next to the man’s shoulder: Rembrandt. f. / 1650.

DOI: 10.5092/jhna.2017.9.1.11

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Dr. Emilie Gordenker, Director of the Mauritshuis, for her comments on an earlier draft of this text. This article could not have been written without the extensive research and many publications of past and present curators and conservators working for the Mauritshuis. I thank all of them warmheartedly.

Rembrandt van Rijn,  Saul and David,  ca. 1651–54 and ca. 1655–58,  The Hague, Mauritshuis
Fig. 1 Rembrandt van Rijn, Saul and David, ca. 1651–54 and ca. 1655–58, oil on canvas, 130 x 164.5 cm. The Hague, Mauritshuis, Bequest of Abraham Bredius, 1946, inv. 621 (artwork in the public domain) [side-by-side viewer]
Fig. 2 The 3D reconstruction of the original size of Rembrandt’s Saul and David, made by Océ Technologies and Delft University of Technology, 2015.
Fig. 2 The 3D reconstruction of the original size of Rembrandt’s Saul and David, made by Océ Technologies and Delft University of Technology, 2015. [side-by-side viewer]
Studio copy after Rembrandt van Rijn,  Portrait of Rembrandt with a Gorget,  after ca. 1629,  The Hague, Mauritshuis
Fig. 3 Studio copy after Rembrandt van Rijn, Portrait of Rembrandt with a Gorget, after ca. 1629, oil on panel, 37.9 x 28.9 cm. The Hague, Mauritshuis, inv. 148 (artwork in the public domain) [side-by-side viewer]
Fig. 4 The paintings from the Mauritshuis, The Hague, and the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, shown side by side at the exhibition Rembrandt by Himself in The Hague (1999–2000).
Fig. 4 The paintings from the Mauritshuis, The Hague, and the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, shown side by side at the exhibition Rembrandt by Himself in The Hague (1999–2000). [side-by-side viewer]
Rembrandt van Rijn and/or studio of the artist,  Tronie of an Old Man,  ca. 1630–31,  The Hague, Mauritshuis
Fig. 5 Rembrandt van Rijn and/or studio of the artist, Tronie of an Old Man, ca. 1630–31, oil on panel, 46.9 x 38.8 cm. The Hague, Mauritshuis, Bequest of Abraham Bredius, 1946, inv. 565 (artwork in the public domain) [side-by-side viewer]
Attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn,  Study of an Old Man, 1650,  The Hague, Mauritshuis
Fig. 6 Attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn, Study of an Old Man, 1650, oil on canvas, 80.5 x 66.5 cm. The Hague, Mauritshuis, Purchased, 1891, inv. 560 (artwork in the public domain) [side-by-side viewer]
Formerly attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn,  Man with a Golden Helmet,  ca. 1650,  Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Gemäldegalerie
Fig. 7 Formerly attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn, Man with a Golden Helmet, ca. 1650, oil on canvas, 67.5 x 50.7 cm, Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Gemäldegalerie, inv. 811 A (artwork in the public domain) [side-by-side viewer]
  1. 1. Hubert von Sonnenburg and Walter Liedtke et al., Rembrandt/Not Rembrandt in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Aspects of Connoisseurship, 2 vols., exh. cat. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995).

  2. 2. See Emilie Gordenker, “Saul and David Reconsidered—Part 1,” Mauritshuis in Focus 28, no. 2 (2015): 6–10; and Gordenker, “Saul and David Reconsidered—Part 2,” Mauritshuis in Focus 28, no. 2 (2015): 12–22. This bulletin was published to accompany the exhibition, which ran from June 11 to September 13, 2015.

  3. 3. For a list of members of the research and conservation team, see Gordenker, “Saul and David Reconsidered—Part 2,” 22; for the treatment and references to earlier literature on the subject, see also Emilie E. S. Gordenker and Petria Noble, “Rembrandt’s ‘Saul and David’ at the Mauritshuis: A Progress Report,” JHNA 5, no. 2 (Summer 2013). http://dx.doi.org/10.5092/ jhna.2013.5.2.11

  4. 4. For an overview of these paintings, see Quentin Buvelot, Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis: A Summary Catalogue (The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 2004): 256–63, nos. 145, 146, 147, 149, 584, 598, 685, 707, 840, 1118, and 621. Rembrandt’s Portrait of an Elderly Man(inv. 1118) has not been restored by the museum since its acquisition in 1999 as it is in a very good condition and its esthetic appearance is good.

  5. 5. Marjolein de Boer, Josefine Leistra, and Ben Broos, Bredius, Rembrandt en het Mauritshuis!!!: Een eigenzinnig directeur verzamelt, exh. cat. (The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 1991).

  6. 6. Norbert Middelkoop et al., Rembrandt under the Scalpel: The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp Dissected, exh. cat. (The Hague: Mauritshuis, 1998).

  7. 7. These publications are all listed in the museum’s annual reports.

  8. 8. Ben Broos, Intimacies and Intrigues: History Painting in the Mauritshuis(The Hague: Mauritshuis/Snoeck: Ghent, 1993), nos. 30–34; Ben Broos and Ariane van Suchtelen et al., Portraits in the Mauritshuis, 1430–1790 (The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 2004), nos. 46-50.

  9. 9. See note 4.

  10. 10. Ary Bob de Vries, Magdi Tóth-Ubbens, and Wiebo Froentjes, Rembrandt in the Mauritshuis, ed. Debora Hensbroek-van der Poel (Alphen aan den Rijn: Sijfhoff, 1978).

  11. 11. Petria Noble et al., Preserving our Heritage: Conservation, Restoration and Technical Research in the Mauritshuis (The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 2009), nos. 6–9.

  12. 12. Wietske Donkersloot, “The Rembrandt Database: A Unique Website for Rembrandt Scholars,” Mauritshuis in Focus 25, no. 3 (2012): 6–11.

  13. 13. http://www.rembrandtdatabase.org/ Rembrandt/cms/contributors

  14. 14. Ariane van Suchtelen, Rembrandt in the Mauritshuis (The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 2006).

  15. 15. See the reproductions in Quentin Buvelot, “Mauritshuis Frames,” Mauritshuis in Focus 27, no. 1 (2014): 12.

  16. 16. See Edwin Buijsen in Christopher White and Quentin Buvelot, eds., Rembrandt by Himself, exh. cat. (London: National Gallery; The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 1999), no. 14b; see also Ariane van Suchtelen in Broos and van Suchtelen, Portraits in the Mauritshuis, no. 51, with references to all the literature.

  17. 17. See Quentin Buvelot in Broos and van Suchtelen, Portraits in the Mauritshuis, 309, no. 565.

  18. 18. Ernst van de Wetering, Rembrandt’s Paintings Revisited: A Complete Survey, vol. 6 ofCorpus of Rembrandt Paintings(Houten: Springer, 2015), 503–4, no. 46.

  19. 19. http://www.rembrandtdatabase.org/ Rembrandt/painting/2950/tronie-of-an-old-man

  20. 20. See the technical description by Caroline van der Elst and Petria Noble in Broos and van Suchtelen, Portraits in the Mauritshuis, 309.

  21. 21. De Vries, Rembrandt in the Mauritshuis, 138 and fig. 111.

Boer, Marjolein de, Josefine Leistra, and Ben Broos. Bredius, Rembrandt en het Mauritshuis!!!: Een eigenzinnig directeur verzamelt. Exh. cat. The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 1991.

Broos, Ben. Intimacies and Intrigues: History Painting in the Mauritshuis. The Hague: Mauritshuis/Ghent: Snoeck, 1993.

Broos, Ben, and Ariane van Suchtelen, with contributions by Quentin Buvelot, Guus Sluiter, Petria Noble, Peter van der Ploeg, Hans Vlieghe and Frederik Duparc, with an introductory essay by Rudi Ekkart. Portraits in the Mauritshuis, 1430–1790. Edited by Quentin Buvelot. The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 2004.

Buvelot, Quentin. Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis: A Summary Catalogue. The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 2004.

Buvelot, Quentin. “Mauritshuis Frames.” Mauritshuis in Focus 27, no. 1 (2014): 6–12.

Donkersloot, Wietske. “The Rembrandt Database: A Unique Website for Rembrandt Scholars.” Mauritshuis in Focus 25, no. 3 (2012): 6–11.

Gordenker, Emilie. “Saul and David Reconsidered—Part 1.” Mauritshuis in Focus 28, no. 2 (2015): 6–10.

Gordenker, Emilie. “Saul and David Reconsidered—Part 2.” Mauritshuis in Focus 28, no. 2 (2015): 12–22.

Gordenker, Emilie E. S., and Petria Noble. “Rembrandt’s ‘Saul and David’ at the Mauritshuis: A Progress Report.” JHNA 5, no. 2 (Summer 2013). http://dx.doi.org/10.5092/jhna.2013.5.2.11

Middelkoop, Norbert, Petria Noble, Jørgen Wadum, and Ben Broos. Rembrandt under the Scalpel: The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp Dissected. Exh. cat. The Hague: Mauritshuis, 1998.

Noble, Petria, Sabrina Meloni, Carol Pottasch, and Peter van der Ploeg. Preserving our Heritage: Conservation, Restoration and Technical Research in the Mauritshuis. Edited by Epco Runia. The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 2009.

Sonnenburg, Hubert von, and Walter Liedtke, with Carolyn Logan, Nadine M. Orenstein, and Stephanie S. Dickey. Rembrandt/Not Rembrandt in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Aspects of Connoisseurship. 2 vols. Exh. cat. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995.

Suchtelen, Ariane van. Rembrandt in the Mauritshuis. The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 2006.

Vries, Ary Bob de, Magdi Tóth-Ubbens, and Wiebo Froentjes. Rembrandt in the Mauritshuis. Edited by Debora Hensbroek-van der Poel. Alphen aan den Rijn: Sijfhoff, 1978.

Wetering, Ernst van de. Rembrandt’s Paintings Revisited: A Complete Survey. Vol. 6 of Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings. Houten: Springer, 2015.

White, Christopher, and Quentin Buvelot, eds. Rembrandt by Himself. Exh. cat. London: National Gallery; The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 1999.

List of Illustrations

Rembrandt van Rijn,  Saul and David,  ca. 1651–54 and ca. 1655–58,  The Hague, Mauritshuis
Fig. 1 Rembrandt van Rijn, Saul and David, ca. 1651–54 and ca. 1655–58, oil on canvas, 130 x 164.5 cm. The Hague, Mauritshuis, Bequest of Abraham Bredius, 1946, inv. 621 (artwork in the public domain) [side-by-side viewer]
Fig. 2 The 3D reconstruction of the original size of Rembrandt’s Saul and David, made by Océ Technologies and Delft University of Technology, 2015.
Fig. 2 The 3D reconstruction of the original size of Rembrandt’s Saul and David, made by Océ Technologies and Delft University of Technology, 2015. [side-by-side viewer]
Studio copy after Rembrandt van Rijn,  Portrait of Rembrandt with a Gorget,  after ca. 1629,  The Hague, Mauritshuis
Fig. 3 Studio copy after Rembrandt van Rijn, Portrait of Rembrandt with a Gorget, after ca. 1629, oil on panel, 37.9 x 28.9 cm. The Hague, Mauritshuis, inv. 148 (artwork in the public domain) [side-by-side viewer]
Fig. 4 The paintings from the Mauritshuis, The Hague, and the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, shown side by side at the exhibition Rembrandt by Himself in The Hague (1999–2000).
Fig. 4 The paintings from the Mauritshuis, The Hague, and the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, shown side by side at the exhibition Rembrandt by Himself in The Hague (1999–2000). [side-by-side viewer]
Rembrandt van Rijn and/or studio of the artist,  Tronie of an Old Man,  ca. 1630–31,  The Hague, Mauritshuis
Fig. 5 Rembrandt van Rijn and/or studio of the artist, Tronie of an Old Man, ca. 1630–31, oil on panel, 46.9 x 38.8 cm. The Hague, Mauritshuis, Bequest of Abraham Bredius, 1946, inv. 565 (artwork in the public domain) [side-by-side viewer]
Attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn,  Study of an Old Man, 1650,  The Hague, Mauritshuis
Fig. 6 Attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn, Study of an Old Man, 1650, oil on canvas, 80.5 x 66.5 cm. The Hague, Mauritshuis, Purchased, 1891, inv. 560 (artwork in the public domain) [side-by-side viewer]
Formerly attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn,  Man with a Golden Helmet,  ca. 1650,  Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Gemäldegalerie
Fig. 7 Formerly attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn, Man with a Golden Helmet, ca. 1650, oil on canvas, 67.5 x 50.7 cm, Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Gemäldegalerie, inv. 811 A (artwork in the public domain) [side-by-side viewer]

Footnotes

  1. 1. Hubert von Sonnenburg and Walter Liedtke et al., Rembrandt/Not Rembrandt in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Aspects of Connoisseurship, 2 vols., exh. cat. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995).

  2. 2. See Emilie Gordenker, “Saul and David Reconsidered—Part 1,” Mauritshuis in Focus 28, no. 2 (2015): 6–10; and Gordenker, “Saul and David Reconsidered—Part 2,” Mauritshuis in Focus 28, no. 2 (2015): 12–22. This bulletin was published to accompany the exhibition, which ran from June 11 to September 13, 2015.

  3. 3. For a list of members of the research and conservation team, see Gordenker, “Saul and David Reconsidered—Part 2,” 22; for the treatment and references to earlier literature on the subject, see also Emilie E. S. Gordenker and Petria Noble, “Rembrandt’s ‘Saul and David’ at the Mauritshuis: A Progress Report,” JHNA 5, no. 2 (Summer 2013). http://dx.doi.org/10.5092/ jhna.2013.5.2.11

  4. 4. For an overview of these paintings, see Quentin Buvelot, Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis: A Summary Catalogue (The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 2004): 256–63, nos. 145, 146, 147, 149, 584, 598, 685, 707, 840, 1118, and 621. Rembrandt’s Portrait of an Elderly Man(inv. 1118) has not been restored by the museum since its acquisition in 1999 as it is in a very good condition and its esthetic appearance is good.

  5. 5. Marjolein de Boer, Josefine Leistra, and Ben Broos, Bredius, Rembrandt en het Mauritshuis!!!: Een eigenzinnig directeur verzamelt, exh. cat. (The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 1991).

  6. 6. Norbert Middelkoop et al., Rembrandt under the Scalpel: The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp Dissected, exh. cat. (The Hague: Mauritshuis, 1998).

  7. 7. These publications are all listed in the museum’s annual reports.

  8. 8. Ben Broos, Intimacies and Intrigues: History Painting in the Mauritshuis(The Hague: Mauritshuis/Snoeck: Ghent, 1993), nos. 30–34; Ben Broos and Ariane van Suchtelen et al., Portraits in the Mauritshuis, 1430–1790 (The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 2004), nos. 46-50.

  9. 9. See note 4.

  10. 10. Ary Bob de Vries, Magdi Tóth-Ubbens, and Wiebo Froentjes, Rembrandt in the Mauritshuis, ed. Debora Hensbroek-van der Poel (Alphen aan den Rijn: Sijfhoff, 1978).

  11. 11. Petria Noble et al., Preserving our Heritage: Conservation, Restoration and Technical Research in the Mauritshuis (The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 2009), nos. 6–9.

  12. 12. Wietske Donkersloot, “The Rembrandt Database: A Unique Website for Rembrandt Scholars,” Mauritshuis in Focus 25, no. 3 (2012): 6–11.

  13. 13. http://www.rembrandtdatabase.org/ Rembrandt/cms/contributors

  14. 14. Ariane van Suchtelen, Rembrandt in the Mauritshuis (The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 2006).

  15. 15. See the reproductions in Quentin Buvelot, “Mauritshuis Frames,” Mauritshuis in Focus 27, no. 1 (2014): 12.

  16. 16. See Edwin Buijsen in Christopher White and Quentin Buvelot, eds., Rembrandt by Himself, exh. cat. (London: National Gallery; The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 1999), no. 14b; see also Ariane van Suchtelen in Broos and van Suchtelen, Portraits in the Mauritshuis, no. 51, with references to all the literature.

  17. 17. See Quentin Buvelot in Broos and van Suchtelen, Portraits in the Mauritshuis, 309, no. 565.

  18. 18. Ernst van de Wetering, Rembrandt’s Paintings Revisited: A Complete Survey, vol. 6 ofCorpus of Rembrandt Paintings(Houten: Springer, 2015), 503–4, no. 46.

  19. 19. http://www.rembrandtdatabase.org/ Rembrandt/painting/2950/tronie-of-an-old-man

  20. 20. See the technical description by Caroline van der Elst and Petria Noble in Broos and van Suchtelen, Portraits in the Mauritshuis, 309.

  21. 21. De Vries, Rembrandt in the Mauritshuis, 138 and fig. 111.

Bibliography

Boer, Marjolein de, Josefine Leistra, and Ben Broos. Bredius, Rembrandt en het Mauritshuis!!!: Een eigenzinnig directeur verzamelt. Exh. cat. The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 1991.

Broos, Ben. Intimacies and Intrigues: History Painting in the Mauritshuis. The Hague: Mauritshuis/Ghent: Snoeck, 1993.

Broos, Ben, and Ariane van Suchtelen, with contributions by Quentin Buvelot, Guus Sluiter, Petria Noble, Peter van der Ploeg, Hans Vlieghe and Frederik Duparc, with an introductory essay by Rudi Ekkart. Portraits in the Mauritshuis, 1430–1790. Edited by Quentin Buvelot. The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 2004.

Buvelot, Quentin. Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis: A Summary Catalogue. The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 2004.

Buvelot, Quentin. “Mauritshuis Frames.” Mauritshuis in Focus 27, no. 1 (2014): 6–12.

Donkersloot, Wietske. “The Rembrandt Database: A Unique Website for Rembrandt Scholars.” Mauritshuis in Focus 25, no. 3 (2012): 6–11.

Gordenker, Emilie. “Saul and David Reconsidered—Part 1.” Mauritshuis in Focus 28, no. 2 (2015): 6–10.

Gordenker, Emilie. “Saul and David Reconsidered—Part 2.” Mauritshuis in Focus 28, no. 2 (2015): 12–22.

Gordenker, Emilie E. S., and Petria Noble. “Rembrandt’s ‘Saul and David’ at the Mauritshuis: A Progress Report.” JHNA 5, no. 2 (Summer 2013). http://dx.doi.org/10.5092/jhna.2013.5.2.11

Middelkoop, Norbert, Petria Noble, Jørgen Wadum, and Ben Broos. Rembrandt under the Scalpel: The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp Dissected. Exh. cat. The Hague: Mauritshuis, 1998.

Noble, Petria, Sabrina Meloni, Carol Pottasch, and Peter van der Ploeg. Preserving our Heritage: Conservation, Restoration and Technical Research in the Mauritshuis. Edited by Epco Runia. The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 2009.

Sonnenburg, Hubert von, and Walter Liedtke, with Carolyn Logan, Nadine M. Orenstein, and Stephanie S. Dickey. Rembrandt/Not Rembrandt in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Aspects of Connoisseurship. 2 vols. Exh. cat. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995.

Suchtelen, Ariane van. Rembrandt in the Mauritshuis. The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 2006.

Vries, Ary Bob de, Magdi Tóth-Ubbens, and Wiebo Froentjes. Rembrandt in the Mauritshuis. Edited by Debora Hensbroek-van der Poel. Alphen aan den Rijn: Sijfhoff, 1978.

Wetering, Ernst van de. Rembrandt’s Paintings Revisited: A Complete Survey. Vol. 6 of Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings. Houten: Springer, 2015.

White, Christopher, and Quentin Buvelot, eds. Rembrandt by Himself. Exh. cat. London: National Gallery; The Hague: Mauritshuis/Zwolle: Waanders, 1999.

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DOI: 10.5092/jhna.2017.9.1.11
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Quentin Buvelot, "Rembrandt in the Mauritshuis: Work in Progress," Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art 9:1 (Winter 2017) DOI: 10.5092/jhna.2017.9.1.11