Priceless family treasures: Christie’s has discovered two portraits by Rembrandt that had been hidden in a private collection for 200 years.
A British family was “rather casually” enjoying these 17th-century Dutch master oil paintings until an expert at the renowned auction house discovered them during a routine appraisal.
Photo: AFP
The works, the last pair of Rembrandt portraits to remain in private ownership, are expected to fetch £5-8 million (€5.8-9.3 million) at an auction at Christie’s in London on July 6.
Photo: AFP
“I first came across these paintings during a routine appraisal a few years ago and was completely taken by surprise,” said Henry Pettifer, Christie’s Old Master Paintings Manager.
“I was really stunned to realize that the images had never really been explored and discussed in Rembrandt literature for 200 years,” he added to AFP while the portraits were on display in Amsterdam.
The 20 cm high oval portraits probably date from 1635 and show an elderly plumber named Jan Willemsz van der Pluym and his wife Jaapgen Carels.
The couple, painted in an intimate style unusual for the artist, were among Rembrandt’s family friends and hailed from his hometown of Leiden.
“Casual”
An ancestor of the current owners bought the paintings at Christie’s in 1824, where they were listed as Rembrandt. Since then they have been in the same collection.
Photo: AFP
“They have remained quiet for two centuries and have been loved by the owner’s family … well appreciated, rather casually,” said Mr. Pettifer.
Once discovered, work began to verify that they were genuine Rembrandts.
“The images were unknown and initially had to be handled with great care,” the official said.
Christie’s brought in art experts, including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, which has one of the largest Rembrandt collections in the world.
The museum’s scientific team studied the works for almost two years, Christie’s expert Manja Rottink told AFP.
Specialists have verified the lineage of ownership of the paintings, which are mentioned in an inventory of the eldest daughter of the people depicted in the paintings, said the house’s international specialist in Old Master paintings.
“Extraordinary”
They also checked Rembrandt’s signatures to see if they were executed in liquid paint at the time and compared the artistic style to other works by the artist.
“The conclusion was that they’re actually from the artist… it’s quite extraordinary,” she said.
The paintings also shed new light on the style of Rembrandt, best known for his much larger portraits commissioned by wealthy Dutch families.
“It’s something different, something a lot more intimate … more personal,” Pettifer said.
The rediscovered Rembrandts are currently on tour in New York and London before going up for auction in London next month.
Whether the buyer will be a private individual or a museum is unclear, but one thing is certain about the sale.
“They’ve been unharmed their entire lives, so we’re selling them together,” Pettifer said.