Exhibitions were organized throughout the Netherlands, home of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669), to mark the celebrated painter’s 350th death anniversary. Rembrandt is widely regarded as the master artist of what is known as the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th Century. His exceptional ability to paint light and shadow; and his passion for realism made his works distinct. Among his famous paintings are ‘The Storm on the Sea of Galilee’, Portrait of Jan Six’ and ‘The Night Watch’.
The Rembrandt Research Project has extensively researched the authenticity of paintings attributed to Rembrandt. Among those paintings that have survived to be investigated, however, many have suffered the ravages of time. Some have darkened over time, others have been changed in format, and still others have been cleaned and restored too drastically. One thing is certain, however: the number of faked Rembrandts is negligible, because so many school works could easily—often mala fide—be upgraded to “genuine” Rembrandts or were for long unrecognized as school works because of their closeness to a (corrupted) image of Rembrandt’s personal style.
Many of the same attribution problems that apply to Rembrandt’s paintings continue to challenge scholars studying his drawings. Adding to this challenge is the fact that many of his drawings have been lost.
Picture Credit : Google
