On Monday, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam officially presented the work from 1633 as authentic. After two years of review, it is confirmed that the privately held painting 'The Vision of Zacharias in the Temple' is indeed a genuine Rembrandt. Modern analysis methods have now proven the authenticity of the painting, which shows a biblical scene.
The painting shows a scene from the Gospel of Luke: High Priest Zacharias stands in the temple when the Archangel Gabriel appears to him. The angel announces that he and his wife, despite their old age, will have a son – the later John the Baptist. The work is considered an early example of his intense engagement with religious motifs.
Since the 1960s, 'Vision of Zacharias in the Temple', dated 1633, had been attributed to Rembrandt's 'workshop', meaning it was believed to have been created by a lesser-known artist such as Jan Lievens or Salomon Koninck. Before the current review, it had already been examined and classified as not made by Rembrandt himself. Experts compared wood panel, paint, painting technique, signature, and composition with securely attributed works by Rembrandt from the same period.
The comparisons and the religious theme of the work led to the conclusion that 'Zacharias' must come from the famous painter. The current owner bought the painting in 1961. The owners, who have asked to remain anonymous but are understood to be European, said their father had bought it from the Amsterdam art dealer P de Boer in 1961.
As a long-term loan, it will be exhibited from Wednesday. Taco Dibbits, the general director of the Rijksmuseum, said it was approached several years ago by a couple who had inherited a modest-looking painting from their father. 'It is great that people can now get to know the young Rembrandt even better,' he said.
In a separate discovery, Charlotte Meyer from Amsterdam discovered 35 Rembrandt etchings. She found the artworks in her grandfather's safe during the COVID-19 lockdown. The pictures will be exhibited for the first time in a museum from March 21.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Charlotte Meyer from Amsterdam gets bored and decides to clean up her grandfather's things in the attic. In a safe, she finds a folder full of drawings and etchings. When she looks more closely at the partly very small artworks, she notices that some of them are signed 'Rembrandt'.
She does not immediately go to experts, as they could be forgeries. 'Charlotte, you have no idea what you have there,' one of the appraisers is said to have told her, as she told Omroep Gelderland. It turned out that 35 of the drawings she found in her grandfather's safe are genuine etchings by Rembrandt.
From the end of March, the pictures will be exhibited for the first time in a museum. Charlotte's grandfather had collected the works, which date from the 1630s, between 1900 and 1920. 'At that time, no one was interested in etchings.
They were nothing special. For only a few guilders, my grandfather bought 35 different specimens,' she said. There is no known estimate yet for Charlotte's specific drawings.
According to Heritage Auctions, comparable pictures have been auctioned for prices between $20,000 and $150,000 each. The 35 pictures from her grandfather's safe and another 15 of Rembrandt's etchings can be admired from March 21 at the Stedelijk Museum Zutphen. On certain days, Charlotte herself leads visitors through the collection.
After the find, the Dutchwoman also started collecting etchings herself.