A New Rembrandt? A Dutch Art Dealer Says He’s Found One

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The Dutch art dealer Jan Six is a direct descendant of a 17th-century burgher who sat for one of Rembrandt’s most important paintings, “Portrait of Jan Six.” It has remained in his family’s possession for 11 generations. Naturally, he grew up to become an old masters specialist.

Mr. Six now says that he has discovered a new Rembrandt, a portrait of an unidentified young man that he purchased at a Christie’s auction in London in 2016 for 137,000 pounds, or about $185,000. If he is right, “Portrait of a Young Gentleman” would be the first wholly unknown Rembrandt painting to be attributed in 44 years — and worth many millions more.

He made the announcement in the Dutch national newspaper NRC Handelsblad on Tuesday, as he published a book, “Rembrandt’s Portrait of a Young Gentleman,” which details evidence he has assembled to support the attribution.

The painting has been endorsed as genuine by Ernst van de Wetering, the world’s leading Rembrandt authority, who wrote a six-volume encyclopedic register of the artist’s works, “The Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings.” With this attribution, Mr. van de Wetering places the “Portrait of a Young Gentleman” as Rembrandt painting No. 342.

“It’s absolutely an Amsterdam-based portrait made by Rembrandt in 1634 or ‘35,” he said in a telephone interview. “There are so many similarities to 100 percent-secured works by Rembrandt.”

Bendor Grosvenor, a British art dealer known for discovering old master “sleepers” at auction, bid on the painting at Christie’s as well. “I saw it in the flesh and I thought it was probably by Rembrandt,” he said in an interview. “And since then Jan has done a great deal of research,” he added, “and Ernst van de Wetering agrees it’s by Rembrandt, so I don’t know what more you could do, really.”

“I’m absolutely convinced,” said Mr. van de Wetering in a telephone interview, adding that the painting was “no doubt an authentic Rembrandt and an interesting contribution to Rembrandt’s oeuvre.”

Norbert Middelkoop, curator of paintings, prints and drawings at the Amsterdam Museum, also said, “I fully support the attribution.”

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