Excellent article, a real page-turner: detective story cum art intrigue, deceit, and the world's greatest portrait painter! Thanks!
10
It's most amusing to note that Mr. Shorto and Mr. Six failed to mention the most exciting and important Rembrandt discovery of recent years - quite possibly because the supposedly sharp-eyed Mr. Six completely missed it. On September 22, 2015, a small panel of "A Fainting Woman" (depicting a seated figure in a swoon, attended by a couple trying to revive the fallen by aromatic ointment on a cloth held under the swooner's nose) surfaced at at an auction at Nye & Company, Bloomfield, New Jersey, catalogued as "Continental School, Nineteenth Century" and estimated at $400-600. Its appearance elicited considerable pre-sale buzz and spirited bidding, and was won (to cheers from the audience) by Parisian dealer Talabardon & Gautier for just over $1 million dollars. Depicting "The Sense of Smell", the picture is one of Rembrandt's easiest paintings, done in Leiden around 1625 while the the artist was still a teenager. During the cleaning of the panel Rembrandt's monogram was revealed, making this the earliest signed painting by the artist - none of the other panels in the series are signed. The canny dealers quickly sold their discovery at a handsome profit to the Leiden Collection, New York, which owns the senses of "Touch" (a squirming man in agony while a quack doctor operates on his head) and "Hearing", depicting three men singing from a music book, the youngest of which is Rembrandt's earliest painted self-portrait.
12
If you enjoyed this article, you may want to catch “One Last Deal,” a Finnish film released last year at the Toronto Film Festival with a very similar storyline.
4
Wish the Six collection was more accessible. Lucky Jan Six XI!
3
Americans, as well as many others, tend to prefer Vermeer because of the artist's prescience with compositions that anticipate Modernism. Vermeer's ability to construct an entirely integrated surface of shapes, values, and colors suggest what Mondrian was able to do centuries later. Rarely does one hear about the intricacies of composition in a Rembrandt where psychological rapport with the human subject is dominant. Indeed, it is the hierarchy of subject over ground and the staginess of Rembrandt's compositions that caused the young Modernists to rebel against such portrayals in painting.
10
Mr. Shorto's excellent interview sparked my interest when he told of Mr. Six's insistence on a candlelight viewing to show the masterpieces in a dramatic new, insightful focus.
What a wonderful art appreciation event it would be if a painting exhibition were to stage such a display.
11
Great article with many twists and turns that captures the essence of what it is to be a collector in the pursuit of knowledge and uncovering gems that are undiscovered even by professional art houses.
5
Thanks so much for this interesting adventure into the life of an Aristocratic Dutch art dealer - wow - I have learnt so much. Sad tho that humans always manage to mess up a story with greed, envy & the determination to steal another's thunder. I'm sure there are 2 sides to the battle over who discovered what & when but happy to ear nobody came to blows. I would now love to visit Amsterdam, altho previously it was not on my bucket list. Lovely to get an education this Sunday morning !
2
One well-written story has captured the attention, excited the emotions, and increased the wonder of a near-complete art neophyte. Contemporary art may be in vogue but, for me, nothing can match the rich provenance and intrigue of the history that connects us to our humanity.
Thank you for the suggestion NYT.
3
Several facts have been omitted from Mr. Shorto's fawning puff-piece: The "Suffer the Little Children" is briefly dismissed as "heavily painted over by a later artist", yet X-rays reveal that the repeating was done soon after Rembrandt abandoned the canvas. X-rays reveal that Rembrandt had never finished the picture - several tentatively rendered figures in the lower left were unresolved by the artist. The independent Amsterdam Rembrandt scholar Maaike Dirkx suggests that Rembrandt might have left it to focus on more lucrative portrait commissions. Dirkx' notes that the picture was completed by a contemporary of Rembrandt, Claes Cornelisz. Moyaert (1592-1655), - who, like Rembrandt, invested in and contributed works to Hedrick van Uylenburgh's picture business - to finally make it salable. The completed picture was of considerable beauty and of great historical interest, yet in his greed to squeeze more Rembrandt out of it, Six and van de Wetering destroyed the picture, scraping away Moyaert's fine contribution, leaving as the illustration demonstrates a sour mess - the fuzzy (unfinished or scrubbed?) head of the central mother is an unsettling contrast to the finely detailed women's head, while heads pop out of nowhere on both sides, suggesting the possibility that Rembrandt himself overpainted parts of it. Martin Bijl's qualms ("I didn't want to do it") contrasts with an arrogant disregard and a disturbing lack of ethics from both Jan Six and Ernst van de Wetering.
9
Jan Six XI and his ancestors are now a part of the Rembrandt's myth thanks to this beautiful narrative.
1
While it is certainly impossible to evaluate the authenticity of this or any painting from a screen image, as an artist I was immediately drawn to the hand in the “Portrait of a Young Gentleman”, which to my eye is rendered by an amateur. Perhaps I missed any mention of this in the extensively written article?
@Alan Papscun the hand is gloved.
4
Thank you. This is the best of the NYT.
6
Very interesting and enjoyable article. But if the "Portrait of a Young Gentleman" is truly by Rembrandt it must be one of his worst. Sorry to say.
This is why I, a native New Yorker, and now ex-Californian, have moved to Amsterdam. It's not just a desire to escape the political nightmare that our country has become, although that plays a large role. It's also that Amsterdam is one of the most creative, multicultural and progressive cities on the planet, and manages to link the past and the future in an amazing way. Rembrandt's world is visible on Amsterdam's streets and at the markets. Shorto's book, Amsterdam: A History of the World's Most Liberal City, is a great place to start in understanding this city. Thank you Russell.
2
I have been an artist and painter almost my entire life. Obviously it's very hard to go by just a photograph--but my artist's instinct sent up red flags to me--as much as I would love to have a new work by the master recognized. While Rembrandt certainly experimented with different brush registration techniques--two things jump out at me when I look at this picture--1) every notable artist knows of the basics of the golden mean and proportionate relationship of the human's parts, my eyesight may be bad but I see a disconnect in the mass relationships in the different parts of the figure; and 2) the left hand seems to be out of place in technique--looks like a exaggerated almost pre-Renaissance mannerism style to me. Sorry to be a doubting Debbie ; )
6
Now, if he could only find the Rembrandt missing from the Isabella Stuart Gardener museum. Really fantastic article, I stayed up way too late reading to the end. Good work Mr. Six XI .
11
@JT
Sadly, the two Rembrandts missing from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Excellent article. This is the quality I expect from the NYT, an actual researched and nuanced article.
11
I found this a very interesting article, with much to mull over. Then, in this weeks Torah discussion, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks had some things to say about Rembrandt and how his capture or use of light struck certain chords http://rabbisacks.org/beauty-of-holiness-vayakhel-5779/
A really captivating account of exciting adventures and art discoveries. The “Portrait of a Young Gentleman,” worries me because when you look closely at the young man's left hand there seems to be an issue with the anatomical correctness of the left hand and particularly the finger tips. His right hand is obscured so there is no means of comparison of the two hands. In looking at the other pictures of Six the elder and his wife, as well as ‘‘Let the Children Come to Me,’’ and “Night Watch” (which I have viewed at the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam), all of their hands and feet are correctly portrayed. I am surprised that an artist that has the technical mastery of Rembrandt would depict a hand as badly as the one in the painting of the young gentleman?
2
@Floribunda if you look closely you’ll see the hand is gloved (you can see the seam near the thumb) which possibly gives it its odd look and the curling finger tips.
6
I love this article. Six seems like a good guy. But I must say that it is interesting to look into the eyes of a character 11 generations ago and see yourself. However, names and titles are fictions that descend the generations by legal rules. He is the heir to the title and the name. But he had up to a couple thousand ancestors in the first Six generation. He is descended from all of them equally.
3
This had some fairly decent information. It was kind of interesting. But it really ended up rather boring and completely skimmable.
1
Thank you, Mr. Shorto. This article is nothing less than artistry.
3
Nice story. Not a Rembrandt. A study of, but not a Rembrandt.
3
I am in Chicago, about to visit the Art Institute, to view their three Rembrandt portraits and attend a sold out lecture at noon. How fortunate that NYT sent a message with a link to this wonderfully presented saga.
4
Grand stuff all right!
But who is to say that Bijl's (Father and Son) did not at first - before Six's belief -- began to think this was indeed an early Rembrandt -- but then thought "No...just a mistake".
But later when Six bought the work the Bijl's then re-imagined they had been part of the story -- and thus began their own little Dutch Master scheme?
1
So what happened to the "experts" at Christie's that failed to detect that the "Portrait of a Young Gentleman" was actually by Rembrandt and not the circle of Rembrandt? It looks like Christie's left a mountain of money on the table. How embarrassing.
6
@times Not to mention the people who sold the painting!
1
Mr. Shorto - so enjoyed your article today in the Times
very interesting insightful read indeed, but I was curious
to know what happened to the Six's collection during the
German invasion, as we read so much about how much art
the Nazis stole during the war.
Would appreciate if you can spread some insight as to
how the collection stayed in tact during the occupation
many thanks'
9
I think that the young Six got himself into trouble because of his enthusiasm & “obsession”.....jealousy may have played a part in the controversy . The art market is a very fragile and insecure place.
2
The NYT is my best monthly investment. Great piece.
3
Mr. Shorto,
For some reason I don't understand, I started reading your article today and while it was far longer than I expected I read it completely.
You made an uninteresting (to me) subject interesting. Thank you for your research and writing.
One question I had was whether "finds" like this happen very often? Is Christie's embarrassed or is it not their responsibility to determine the actual artist behind a work?
Thank you again!
2
My wife, an artist and connoisseur, is very skeptical: the man in the new "Rembrandt" seems not to have any shoulders, and the relationships of his head and left arm to his body are awkward, to say the least. Rembrandt knew human anatomy.
3
The young boy appears to be very slight in build. His heavy cloak seems to exaggerate his slim build,and the lace collar creates an optical perception that he has no shoulders. I certainly found the article very informative and the evidence laid out by Six convinced me that he probably got it right.
4
Amazingly informative story. Thanks for your hard work.
1
Can you ask Jan Six XI why the hand in the painting so poorly done? Is that possibly because it was part of a larger painting and the hand was added later by another painter? Perhaps to cover up some work that would be incongruous with a solo portrait?
@NVann For what it's worth, the subject is wearing a glove. From very soft material - only the very rich could afford such lace collars and beautiful gloves?
1
So enthralling I nearly missed my subway stop!
6
Congratulations, your article made me late for a meeting. Well done!
5
Just another "thanks" both to Mister Shorto and the NYT.
Loved this article - read it twice. And will read it again. Now on the hunt for a good biography of Rembrandt. Any suggestions?
3
What a captivating article! It's so well written that I"m in awe of the author. Congratulations Mr. Shorto.
3
Is it expecting too much of the Times to list before the photo credit (frankly...) the name of the museum or collection where the works of art reside. In various cases starting with only the artist's name and a generic title (dates are nice as well) one cannot easily research this.
Great detective story with art market gossip. I believe that Rembrandt had students in his studio by 1630-- Fabritius of the goldfinch amongst them. God is in the details.
1
@Anna I understand your frustration but Google, in this instance, might be your freunde.
3
I loved immersing myself in this article, as I've become a recent fan-girl of good ol' Rembrandt. I read much (not all!) of Simon Sharna's incredibly engaging book, "Rembrandt's Eyes" last year in prep for my first trip to Amsterdam. I had never been interested in the Old Dutch Masters til then - Context is everything, right? Then with our 19-year-old daughter, who had taken an AP Art History class and is a budding artist herself, we splurged on a private tour of the Rijksmuseum with a guide from ContextTravel.com. There is nothing like standing before "Night Watch" and wandering the galleries. By the end, I began to be able to "spot the Rembrandt" as we went from gallery to gallery. I realize folks love Paris and London and Rome. But I encourage you to visit Amersterdam - You can wander through Rembrandt's own house-studio-museum - and watch experts mix paints as he did and more. Thank you, Mr. Sorto, for this piece. And thank you, NYT, for supporting the reporter to deeply research and write at length an article that anyone of any background can learn from and just enjoy!
5
I jut returned from a two week sojourn in Amsterdam, the focus of which was art and brown cafes.
Of course I visited the Rijksmuseum and took the train to go the Mauritshuis.
But how I wish I had known enough to get a ticket to see the Six collection. Who knew !
2
Fascinating read to start my weekend! Thanks, Mr. Shorto and NYT for quality, in-depth articles for those who love art. So glad I’ve had a chance to visit Amsterdam and Rijksmuseum so I could easily imagine the scenes set by Mr. Shorto.
3
Some portraitists construct an astronomer’s cold, black, three-dimensional space behind the picture frame. The subject is rendered fully corporeal as he or she sits in an infinite void, exposed to the raw, unsparing judgement of God and viewer.
Rembrandt instead stretches a warm gray felt over his frame, then presses gently upon the fabric to create a shallow, curved recess just big enough for his sitter and a few closely held items…a collar, a hat, perhaps a flower or a letter. These are rendered in crisp trompe l’oeil through deceptively simple means, but the further one moves from the sitter’s head, the flatter and less focused the painting becomes. The sitter’s body exists only as a shapeless prop to support the head; it might as well be a large fruit, draped in dark garments and flattened into the picture plane. Even the features of the sitter’s face are carved ambiguously, yet they unfailingly express both repentance and forgiveness. Considering the dazzling breadth of subject and technique commanded by the Renaissance masters, I have conceded that Rembrandt is something of a one-trick pony. But it’s the trick the world needs.
Russell Shorto’s description of "waterkoud" driven bone-deep by Amsterdam’s “raw wind and spitting rain” hints at a source for Rembrandt’s warm, shallow spaces. Like the cozy interior of a Dutch home they offer "gezelligheid," a comforting refuge in which to contemplate Rembrandt’s message that if we can learn to forgive, we may be forgiven.
10
Wonderful article weaving art, Dutch Masters, history, the Dutch present and the Dutch Golden Age, and the politics of the art world all together. Shorto is such an engaging writer and he certainly understands the Netherlands and 'Dutch' culture. Fascinating read and it makes one really want to meet and have a coffee with Jan Six XI, after a tour of the family collection of course. Kudos to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for developing a center for studying Dutch art based on the treasures from two donated collections and works in its possession. Timeless and revelatory about a society which was, for a time, mad for art that portrayed people of all classes and walks of life.
8
Only sadly sickened by the current administration. Any article about Art gives me pleasure. For those who are not aware there are 2 excellent web sites about Art. If you go to the Web Gallery of Art, you will find a listing of artists starting in the 1500. There is a complete list of all Rembrandt's paintings etchings and drawings the museums they are in and pictures of every painting listed. It is amazing. There is a picture that they believe to be of his son Titus painted around 1657. I think the newly discovered painting of a young gentleman resembles his son Titus. Just my visual opinion. I am not an art critic just someone who loves art and dabbles using pastels and love to do paintings of people. The other site is Artcyclopedia. It is quite good and a different format for looking up artists and museums, with good results. Thank you Mr. Shorto for the article. Wish I still traveled so I could visit the Jan Six home.
10
@Sadly Sickened
Thank you for pointing us to those marvelous resources; it'a rainy morning here in California (rain, at last!) and the anticipation of drinking tea and immersing myself in these masterpieces is delightful.
4
@Sadly Sickened. Thank you so much! As an elderly internet kindergardener I had no idea of the existence of those we sites.
1
The lace collar and cuff in the portrait is not bobbin lace. It is needle lace, a completely different technique, and one very well known for accessories in this period. It is so well painted that the type of lace is very obvious. This lace is often attributed to England, occasionally Flanders. What is a bit unusual is that the lace in portraiture and surviving examples usually borders a linen neck-piece - here the entire thing is lace. There is a contemporary, very similar bobbin lace that sometimes goes under the modern name of Vandyke, however the example in the portrait is definitely not bobbin lace.
17
Russell's gift is he captures so much of the Dutch in this wonderful snapshot of Jan Six. This isn't a story about Jan, this is a story about the gifts and challenges of being a well known person in Amsterdam.
7
Wow, this is the most interesting, fascinating story I've read in the NYT in ages. It read exactly like a novel, and yes, I immediately thought of "The Goldfinch."
I have never cared for the Dutch painters, probably because I knew nothing about them, but this piece has sparked an interest and I look forward to learning more about them.
Thank you, Russell Shorto.
19
Fascination article. Reads like a novel. Shorto describes the process that Six went through in a captivating fashion and then....the story takes a twist. He describes the events or how the protagonists perceive them without taking sides or making a value judgement. I vaguely know the story but did not know how others were involved. Seems that the art collectors and traders' scene is full of vanity, reputation building, reputations destroyed, lost respect and lost friendships. Seems like some of the traders are just as vain as these 17th century merchants who wanted their portraits taken. Rembrandt of course did much more than just painting the noveaux riche.
Thanks to the comments here, I found out more about Shorto's book on the New Amsterdam colony and how that played a role in the development of the USA. In the Netherlands that role is widely acknowledged. The Dutch Republic at the time of Rembrandt was a rising world power. It fought an epic war of independence against Spain which in a sense was also a civil and religious war. At the same time the republic fought against England, France and a German duchy. And of course, against the sea. All conditions were set to launch that young republic as a center of freedom, liberal thought and enterprise. However, there was also religious rigor that also was transported to America and that contributed to the puritans there. The Dutch Republic was also involved in less noble causes but the people made NL with their bare hands.
13
Grand read. Having lived many decades in the Netherlands I’m always drawn to Dutch art stories. The most glorious art shows I’ve ever seen are the Rembrandt exhibitions. The last show at the rijksmuseum of late paintings of the master, ranks as the finest exhibition I will ever see. His paintings( rendered after he was supposedly “all washed up”) are magisterial, in technique and subject matter.
12
One data point is a suspicion Two is a confirmation Wetering breached confidentiality when he alerted Bilj to the discovery. We call that material non public information Moreover he wraps himself in the cloak of reputation to escape guilt. Smells like a conspiracy between those three insiders for a payday beyond restoration & consulting.
11
thank you, NYT and russell shorto, for a glorious way to spend the pre-dawn hours in my own gezellige apartment in amsterdam. what an evocative piece that deftly weaves together past and present and the many narrative twists of this compelling art story. so much of amsterdam’s history and artistic legacy are brought to life in an exciting way. even the nuances of light are rendered in a manner that allows one to vividly imagine the effects of the candlelight on the various canvases. this feature has been a most delightful respite from the otherwise dismaying news congesting our newspapers. as they say in dutch: dank je wel!
23
So refreshing! An informative story about art (painting, movies, or music, for that matter!) that brings out the elements of great painting and free of ethnic and gender considerations.
11
Russell Shorto's writing fires up one's imagination. Wonderful story telling. And educates as well. Totally agree with others it's worth the subscription.
Dutch masters' paintings never interested me before. Now I have the urge to see a Rembrandt in a smooth and sober black frame, with candles in a darkened room!
What gives Jan Six XI his keen artistic eyes and bring him into the world of art dealers, collectors and experts? On the balance scale of nature versus nurture, my bet is on nature in his case, same as in most cases of child prodigies.
19
I went today to the Frick Collection in New York to see an exhibit, "Moroni: The Riches of Renaissance Portraiture". I was under impressed. As always (my wife and I are long-time members) we stopped off to look at my favorite painting in the whole world - a Rembrandt self-portrait, which to me is the best one he ever did. As the article noted, most portraits look like the artist is trying to achieve a photographic likeness of the subject. Rembrandt's studies look deep beyond the surface into the very soul of the person - especially of himself. He remains unique. By the way, for lovers of Shorto's writing (as I am), don't even think of visiting Amsterdam without first reading his 2013 book, "Amsterdam".
18
Wow - I can't remember the last time I read a tale this good. The author took something I didn't know I was interested in and just drew me right into a fascinating yarn. Thanks for an excellent read!!
33
Bijl's complaint is not convincing.
If Six and Bijl truly had a partnership to buy this painting, there would have been a lot more talk. They would have discussed the mechanics of the transaction, whether they still needed backing from bigger money (as Six clearly believed), how they would get the money wired to Christie's in the event of a sale. Six would have asked Bijl if he wanted to be publicly identified as a buyer. Six might have asked Bijl for a commitment in writing to ensure Bijl did not back out and leave him as the bag-man. Bijl would have offered earnest money. If Bijl really wanted in, he would have made sure that all this was covered.
Maybe he was not as convinced at the time of sale as he was later, after all the research was done in the labs. Well, too bad. That's not how the game work. So, no, Bijl is not convincing and very unethical in his smearing of Six.
"Let's work together!" is not a deal. It's like a kiss blown across the room.
26
Six was flying by the seat of his pants on this one. He was desperately trying to keep his find secret and avoid others finding out and thereby forcing up the bidding. By taking Sander in as partner, he was trying to keep him quiet while at the same time hedging his bets with another and greater source of funds. Art is very, very big business these days.
2
Jan Six XI is Rembrant personified and reborn - brilliant yet ordinary, intensely human and topical yet timeless.
The repeat photos of him and then a painting sitting on an antique chair with the bottom stuffing sagging below the seat, are full of humor, humanity, and the lasting ability of beauty to hold death at bay.
17
Ah, Russell Shorto! I was reading this thinking, What an interesting way of telling this story! The players are intriguing and sympathetic and at the same time there is no glossing over the mixed motives and deceptions. When I realized it was Mr Shorto who had written it, it was very gratifying. His book, The Island at the Center of the World, was also engrossing. It details the Dutch origins of Manhattan's unique open culture.
221
@LoriM
I am reading this book right now. It is on my nightstand. Thank you for making the Russell Shorto connection for me!
Btw-Love the book. Fascinating take on Dutch influence in Manhattan. This influence is still embedded in all things NYC today.
18
@LoriM You mentioned Island at the Center of the World first! Short is a wonderful writer and as a native Manhattan Islander - proud Upper Westsider - This book, I would say, is required reading! Without him we would be missing something essential in our appreciation of this special city.
Thank you for this marvelous, finely-wrought article. I have long loved the late Rembrandt self-portrait which hangs in the National Gallery in Washington, DC. Whenever I see it, I think about the artist and the man; he paints his aging face with such scrutiny, detachment, unflattery, and yet deep compassion. Looking at this painting gives me a feeling of seeing through Rembrandt's own eyes, at himself (the man, the body, the subject, the artist, and at the entirety of humanity at once).
293
What became of Geertje Dircx, Rembrandt's lover and son Titus's wetnurse who was sent by R. to an institution?
see Wikipedia.
6
Capitivating article from the beginning to the end. It drew me in despite the fact that I have no knowledge of art or it’s history. Thank you.
11
this is the nytimes i remember from my time in college. beautifully written and enlightening. although budgets have changed and the quality of the opinion writers have precipitously declined, it's nice to know you still have it in you.
20
New York Times, please more stories like this as a break from the wall to wall coverage about a crass and uncultured president who probably never even heard of Rembrandt.
The closest Trump's ever come to art is paying a fake bidder to buy his portrait at an inflated price, and then gouging an alleged charity for the money.
10
What about his framed fake magazine covers on display in his clubhouses and other properties?
1
What a long(-winded?) article! "Jets of insight and pools of empathy" - whew! The whole piece sounds breathless in its admiration of aristocratic descent over four centuries and awe at a magnificent art collection in an ancient family mansion. Six (the son and not the father - "XI" sounds absurdly pretentious, almost mocking) comes off as petty and a sharp businessman as much as an art expert or dealer and publicist.
3
@Hari Prasad
If he comes off the way, it's Shorto who has brought that side of Six out as a counterpoint to the artistic Six . . .
2
I found in Mr. Shorto's article - with its flattering tone, and its penchant for "big money" art world long-hair critic name-dropping - a powerful inspiration....
Mainly, it inspired me to buy (online, and at a retailer whose name is the same as a mighty big South American river) a Criterion DVD copy of Orson Welles' "'F' For Fake," a very clever 1973 "docudrama" which deals with - among other subjects - the Hungarian art forger Elmyr de Hory. I saw it first time a long, long time ago at a Manhattan "art house" cinema called "The Elgin," and now I need to watch it again.
Ah! The movies filmmakers used to craft! How some of those films could make even young persons into slightly wiser persons - wiser in the ways of what Kant called that "crooked timber of humanity" - a group of earthly beings we all belong to!
4
Masterful
6
WELL DONE!
5
Did anyone one else get Neal Caffrey vibes from this?
1
In the “let the children come to me” picture, one of the minor figures is the woman whose head you can see just to the right of the man with the red cap who is on the left side of the picture. That woman resembles Rembrandt’s mother, as he painted her in several pictures.
8
Very nice and interesting story that once more proves the value of the NYT, please do more of those.
14
I wonder if instead of Icarus, they meant to refer to Mr. Six as Iscariot, as in Judas. It would seem to make more sense in context.
3
How can I thank this author enough!!!! Reading this article was like taking a master class on the Dutch Golden Age and the works of Rembrandt. Then, to have the opportunity to “meet” Jan Fix and listen to his thoughts——what a piece de resistance! And thank you to The Times. Articles like these are what keep me coming back.
111
wow mr Shorto what an article to read here in my gezellige house in Amsterdam! the fire place is burning ..its raining...great photos as well. many thanks
72
Bit of a side issue but here goes.
Looking at paintings has been my abiding passion -- my solace, harbor, balm, and inspiration -- since I was 10 years old when my parents moved my family to Europe for a year. Especially Renaissance and Old Masters I suppose but Matisse can be a giant thrill too.
Even so I, like most everyone, have been thunder-stunned by the millions of dollars paid for these paintings at auction. I remember in my college years a Rembrandt portrait selling for, I think, an astounding $7 million and everyone just flipping out. It seemed ludicrous, insane, Neronic.
With time that's all changed for me.
For example, in this article the Rembrandt wedding couple, Marten Soolmans and his wife Oopjen Coppit, purchased jointly by the Louvre and the Rijksmuseum for $174 million:
That now seems to me the most utterly sane and beneficent way to spend money -- I mean not for investment purposes, but as an understanding of true value of what humans can sometimes do in this sorry, sad, glorious world in time.
93
I meant also to say, thank you Russell Shorto for the engrossing well-told story and the NYT for the accompanying photos and for publishing it. Wonderful!
10
@RLS
Matisse, Picasso both qualify as "Old Masters, iconic figures in the history of art -- serious painters -- and it is insane to pay gazillions for works of art esp. as there is no tax paid for social welfare at least in the USA (good old luxury tax done away with by WJC however, a museum would not pay it in any case.). I often think of the artist living poorly during life only to have others living grandly later from his labors.
Meantime, the portrait of Jan Six has always intrigued -- and there are modern Jan Sixes -- WOW -- a great story.
3
A corrective re the Rembrandt Anna refers to. It was "Aristotle with a Bust of Homer," purchased for the record- breaking price of two million three hundred dollars by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in 1961. Not a portrait, but a fictional recreation of the Greek philosopher in his study. Yes, times have changed.
6
Wow. Just...Wow.
1
Fascinating article.
Hogwash.. They a fakes!
The "Art world" makes the Sinaloa Cartel look like Boy Scouts! Treacherous, unscrupulous thieves.
5
The world of art dealing is filled with shady and deceitful people . . . just ask Steven Mnuchin.
6
The article is fascinating, but the most thrilling aspect was the Rembrandt paintings. As I scrolled down, each time I came upon another one there was that rush from looking at great art. And the paintings are right here, in my living room, to look at whenever I want!
7
What a fascinating way to start my day, much better than the Cohen hearings.
23
I, of course, do not know if the portrait in question is from a young Rembrandt, but I am a trained art historian and worked in two great art museums and that painting is very strange looking on the sitter's right. No arm, no hand, and a very big area in a portrait to leave fairly empty --I am certainly hampered by viewing it on my laptop -- and I suppose that big empty quarter, so to speak, could be attributed to the artist's youth -- or as the article mentions -- it might certainly come from a larger painting.
8
@TR I thought the same. The overall balance of the picture is off and does require explanation.
2
Wonderful article, and writing. As an art historian, I enjoyed the thrill initially, and then sighed as the business of art connoisseurship inevitably intervened. Unavoidable, but, too bad. One hopes that the passion and self-confidence of Jan Six XI do not follow the psychological fortunes of the object of his passion, Rembrandt.
10
Such a great story and so well told.
More like this NYT (and less opinion politics)!
15
Fascinating ...i love Rembrandts Jewish Bride !,her hands are so true to what hands can actually do , they can see and think - Jan Six , such a character . The Dutch come across as very urbane creatures , set against the pushy mouthy 'mericans !
5
@Trish Mullahey
hey if you don't like American's, there is a plane leaving the country every minute!
2
Will be in Amsterdam in April. Plan to casually stroll on the Herengracht and, if all the stars align, make eye contact with Jan Six. Great article!
9
@helen13xxxx and we're going in late March... lucky timing, to have this instructive and insightful profile/assessment/appreciation appear just now.
1
What a wonderful article! What newspaper but the Times would deliver such a special story? Amsterdam here I come.
9
Quibble: horde/hoard—easy to switch accidentally if you’re thinking and writing. But I so miss the copy desk at the Times, which in the past would have caught this. Sigh.
9
Delicious!
Reminds me of reading Frayne's Headlong years ago.....
3
To NYT, I absolutely loved this article. Please print more like this.
14
I recommend Jan Six XI stop centering this around himself and begin devoting his time to advancing the cause for making his family inheritance more available to the public. The Six mansion would make a much better museum than a home.
3
@NG - Spoken like a true socialist.
3
@NG It is a museum.
5
@Inez Garcia The government of the Netherlands is paying for the upkeep of the home and collection. Public access at some level should be, and is, provided. The family debate was over how much access with enough. Maybe you did not read the entire article?
16
Excellent article! Thanks, Russell Shorto, for introducing me to the word ‘waterkoud!’
6
Stories like this one are why I've subscribed to the NYT for several decades! I might just scan or read the sub-headlines on political articles, yawning as I go, but this is truly "a diamond in the rough" journalistically-speaking. A well-written story on a very interesting topic!
7
May I suggest the newly discovered portrait is of a younger Jan Six I.
1
The movie will be great!
5
Very interesting article, but the picture of Six on the arm of an old chair makes me wonder about whether taking care of old things is thought about by him or his photographer.
What were they thinking about in this photo?
3
Can carbon dating help authenticate a painting like this?
These are not modern fakes. They were painted by artists of the same period. The question is was that artist Rembrandt? Carbon dating cannot answer that.
1
The painting may be a Rembrandt, but the article is definitely not a shorto! Nevertheless my time was very well spent reading this. It is a great story, well-told. Bravo Mr. Shorto! Thank-you.
1
Mr. Shorto how well you captured the generations of of the Six family collection and the enthusiam of the latest heir. Fascinating and a pleasure to read.
9
Russell Shorto - Bravo. It almost felt like I was reading a detective mystery. There are so many questions that still beg for answers. And what insight into the world of art and art dealers. When I look at some of the modern art and the millions of dollars they sell for and then look at a Rembrandt and other Golden Age artists, I can see the soul of people in the latter and mostly confusion and sterility in the former.
19
I agree with many other commentators here - a superb article in every way! It helped to bring the paintings and people involved alive and connected past to present in the most interesting and intriguing way.
Please, more like this when possible!
24
Superb research and writing by Russell Shorto. This is a gem of a story and a peek into another world most of us will never see - "Do I have another Rembrandt?".
18
I rarely read articles this long all the way to the end but this was so well woven.
21
A brilliantly written article by Russell Shorto. And what a fascinating subject this Jan Six 11, the scion of a dynasty of Sixes founded by a patron and subject of Rembrandt, who discovers two lost Rembrandts, buys them for a pittance, is betrayed by people he trusted, and staves off a jealous pretender who couldn't come up with the ante.
This is a story destined to be filmed. Pity that Roger Rees (Lord John Marbury, Marquess of Needham and Dolby, Earl of Croy, Baronet of Brycey, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States from the Court of St. James) died before he could portray Six the Eleventh on screen. The resemblance and aristocratic bearing are uncanny.
11
Thank you Mr. Shorto....for painting a Rembrandt in prose.
10
Great article, thanks!
5
Amazing happening, encouragement for us all to keep hunting...
2
Talk about uber-white privilege, and the uber-rich decadence that sustains it. A bottle of water in these circles will set you back half a day's wages. But no doubt, these high-born actors wax eloquent about "social justice" in the shadows of billion dollar Rembrandts. The Times could have delved into the sources of such mind boggling ancestral wealth. But this is art.
2
@shreir
After reading this article, then rereading parts it, I failed to discover that it was about you and the moral clarity you suggest. I didn’t grasp immediately that it was about race and class warfare. I assumed it was about understanding the sobering art of a master, how art itself functions and how 16th century Dutch life struggled towards enlightened humanism.
14
@macbloom
What marvelous witty sarcasm!
1
Absolutely excellent. I was riveted.
10
I hope this gets turned into a film!
4
I had trouble getting through the article because my mind stuck on one question: How safe is this magnificent collection, housed in an ancient wooden house, from fire and flood?
6
@N Lee Valid concern. Perhaps that’s intrinsic to the government’s assistance in maintaining the site.
4
I have not lost myself in a story in quite some time. Thank you for covering this interesting and insightful look into the Dutch Masters juxtaposed with modern times art wrangling and hubris. For a brief moment, I forgot about Cohen‘s testimony that our president would not adhere to the norms of transfer of power.
29
@Scott Cauchois. Probably good for your mental health. If I hadn't already learned this lesson during the previous administration, I might also have wasted time listening to the liar Cohen.
1
How did the family prevent their collection from being stolen by the Nazis?
30
@Carolyn I was wondering the same think but it is likely because they weren’t Jewish.
4
@Bezerkley Or they were clandestine collaborators.
1
@Carolyn Just did a web search and found an article from 2010 about the collection on the FoxNews website which says, "After the Germans occupied the Netherlands in 1940, Jan Six VIII secreted the collection's most important works into a concealed room at the Amstel Brewery, a company he chaired. On the theory that the best place to hide valuables is under the nose of the enemy, he opened the brewery to the Nazis as an officers' mess."
https://www.foxnews.com/world/rembrandts-jan-six-after-350-years-watching-family-foibles-he-goes-on-public-display
1
Like the other commenters, I just want to thank Russell Shorto for such a wonderfully written story! I was browsing the homepage and thought this would be a brief news story but I got sucked right in. History, mystery, artistry and glimpses of the humanity that connects us across the ages ... I’ll be sure to appreciate the Rembrandts next time I go to the Met!
26
@L Who knew where this would lead, eh? I started reading this aloud to my husband after dinner last night... but after two cups of coffee, I quit and read the rest to myself; had to send him the link so he could finish it himself. Terrific story -- a surprise and a gift.
1
Who knew they had inflatable fat suits back in those days?
1
What happened to the nursemaid Rembrandt committed to an asylum when he was through with that relationship?
7
@LizA we need a movie!
1
@LizA That's Geertje Dircx. A previous commenter pointed out that there's a wikipedia article on her.
1
Fascinating article, on many fronts. Thanks!
6
Another piece of great writing Shorto. The story of the discovery of the paintings is fascinating! This article makes me want to buy a plane ticket to Amsterdam.
11
I am about halfway through this article and just told my spouse "you have to read this NYT piece..." and he said,"the Rembrandt article??" We both love it. Captures the love of art and history. One of the best articles I have read in ages. Thank you for the effort that went into the article.
26
This is the first lengthy article from the NYT that I have been able to get through in a while. Mr. Shorto's writing was captivating and I was able to genuinely feel the interest Mr. Six had in his work.
11
I absolutely loved this article. Thank you for taking me on a surprisingly wild ride in the world of Rembrandt. Who woulda thunk?
10
The painting has no signature?
3
I held my breath as Shorto describes Jan Six's moment of discovery; trip to Christie's in London; on-the-fly research at the book shop; and sprint to the National Gallery to confirm his great hunch. "I know whoever painted this painted that." Great! As an Art History major, I loved learning more about what makes for "Rembrandtness." As a woman interested in great design, I felt the excitement I've experienced when making a juicy discovery of something lovely that I can actually afford, based on knowledge, a gut feeling, and a dash of luck thrown in. Great story. Love the NYT.
16
I loved this article too!! One of the best NYT reads in awhile. Shorto is to be commended. Finding this article was almost as good as finding a list Rembrandt! My totally uneducated guess is that Rembrandt painted the lace and the face. Everything else was by his circle. But if that was all, it’s enough. What a great world the art world.
3
Never thought I would read the whole pice. but it grabbed me. Thank you!
6
Nice read, well done, Mr. Shorto. What I am curious about though and seems a glaring gap is what happens afterwards to Christie's of London? Has to be even more added controversy there, eh? Tens of millions of value lost by missed attribution. Lawsuits? Finders keepers?
14
This is a positively atmospheric read. I was hooked, netted, fileted and sautéed. I have never had a desire much less an inkling or insight to why “nobility” or the lifestyle of the very wealthy holds any allure, but as I read this piece I envied every strain of this man’s experience, and I don’t mean Rembrandt. It wasn’t just that a very special part of me came to life. You opened my mind and heart to so much more.
11
Does anyone know where the painting had been? Who had it before the auction? Who placed it for auction?
9
Thank you, Russell Shorto. Brilliantly written and told.
8
The world would be a poorer place without the NYT. Thank you!
What an absolutely wonderful, insightful, surprising and thoroughly researched article. Bravo!
19
Shorto's book on the Dutch settling New York and the influence of Leiden on the new world couldn't be topped; so I thought. What an amazing story. Having married a Dutch descendant of the Schenck family in Brooklyn(check out the family house in the Brooklyn Museum) anything to do with Dutch history enthuses me. Jan Six the Eleventh? I thought I was hallucinating!
Adrian van der Dronk! We need you to return somehow and bring back New York as you had envisioned It!
6
If this painting is by Rembrandt, then I am the king of Spain.
2
This is what I say too. This work looks like no Rembrandt I have ever seen.
1
Very skeptical.. Six is so biased and there is so much to gain from calling a painting a Rembrandt that no matter what the experts say, this painting and the other one should remain forever "possible Rembrandts". A huge conflict of interest that no matter how sincere he is, makes him lose all credibility.
4
Well, I am an art historian and a restorer and and I am fairly sure, that the portrait is not by Rembrandt and I can explain why, as I did in an article picked up by Sandra Smallenburg in NRC (27th december). I realize that debuking is less sexy than discovery. I don’t really care how many 19th century paintings are sold as 17th, but on this level it should not be done. Btw Rijksmuseum never showed any slightest interest in acquiring the portrait.
Kind regards and thank you for the article
Ivonka Ciepielak
Amsterdam
6
Thank you, Dr Ciepielak, for confirming the reference I made to your work and that of Ms Smallenburg earlier in these comments. Mr Shorto's work may be "sexier," for he is a known quantity to the general readership of the NYTimes. This article is, however, as much of a "discovery" as are Jan Six XI's "Rembrandts."
3
Just want to mention "Picture This", Joseph Heller's musings on Rembrandt, Six, Socrates, Homer, and history; an amazing book.
8
I thought the concept of “Rembrandtness” as described in this article as interesting but ultimately a cop out. An authority on Rembrandt should be able to say based on their expert opinion whether they thought the Six painting is or is not a Rembrandt.
3
I really enjoyed this article, but I'm a little dubious about both paintings, especially the Portrait of a Young Man. Most Rembrandt portraits, to my memory any way, are of specific people who are named. I'm going to check out the article by Ivonka Ciepielak in Argus, mentioned in another comment, to see what she thinks. The overly smoothed face jumped out at me immediately, even if the result of over cleaning; wish I could better see the (conveniently distanced?) photo of the marriage portraits of the same period.
Also, the darks are too uniformly black; they don't breathe; in spite of my limited view of a photograph.
Rembrandt breathes even in a photo.
The "children gathering near" painting comes closer to authenticity, although the faces of two of the male figures in the rear are painted in a way that feels odd- raw, but crude; not Rembrandt crude. Jesus's face has a melodrama not quite Rembrandt.
I'd have to stand in front of the painting and feel the scale of it. The size is not given here. When I was about 24, about 1972, I walked through the "Hall of Rembrandt" portraits at the Met, NY with my Grandfather. I flippantly pointed at at least ten of them and said they were fakes. My grandfather was appalled at my attitude. But two weeks later, he sent me a NYT article which stated that the "Hall" was being closed because so many of the Rembrandt portraits in it were fakes!
We need Thomas Hoving now!
My favorite of all time is The Polish Rider at the Frick.
4
Great piece. Also, it's great to finally have proof of Michael Stipe's immortality.
2
Marvelous. Thank you.
3
The painting looks a lot like the actor Sean Astin, who played Sam Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings trilogy!
1
I'm not a Rembrandt scholar and maybe that's why I see what others cannot. No way is that "Portrait of a Young Gentleman" by Rembrandt. Such fastidiously painted lace! Show me a certified Rembrandt with such inordinate time wasted on the clothing. The lifeless hand, strange shaping of the man's jacket; too dark shading by the man's nose. Perhaps it was done as an ad for the lace manufacturer. I guess even the swells—especially the swells—see what they want to see.
2
This piece was so evocative that I decided to try to find the self portrait of Rembrandt in the biblical painting before scrolling down to look for the answer. Mr. Shorto (and Mr. Six XI) educated me so well that I had no trouble finding it on my own.
Sort of an Old Master Where is Waldo?
Wonderful article.
6
I'll take Rembrandt over Jeff Koons anyday.
6
@skanda
I’ll take Walter Keane over Jeff Koons anyday.
1
Wonderful article, can Donna Tartt start work on the novel right away, please?
I did have to get over my instant reaction to that photo though - Bad boy, that's a really good chair, get off the arm immediately or you'll break it!
7
Fascinating and an entertaining detour from what else is in the news cycle. This is why I subscribe to the NYT.
5
Thank you so much for this article. I know very little about art but I try to learn. This piece is a journey and along the way, art education happens. Art education does not need to be esoteric and indecipherable to be meaningful. As Mr. Six is doing, the author opens the subject to the people. It's easy to walk through the door.
6
I was totally pulled into every detail of this piece! My husband kept trying (and failing) to rouse me from reading to put the kids to bed. He ended up doing it and I ended up recounting the article to him. :) It reminds me of the intriguing story of the Gustav Klimt painting of Adele Bloch-Bauer which was stolen by the Nazis and finally returned to Adele's family in the last 10 years.
5
Thank you for this fine article. It’s a pity that so much money is involved in trading rare art objects because they attract dealers and collectors for the wrong reasons. Misunderstandings among friends, where money is involved, are frequently corrosive.
I get the sense that Mr. Six can learn from this experience and continue to be a major asset to connoisseurship and art history. I hope that he can eventually patch-up his relationships within the Dutch art world.
I hope the New York Times will from time to time update his story.
5
Just as an aside, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a Dutch Paintings exhibit, which, of course, features Rembrandt. It is very well done and for me, becomes even more interesting in light of this fascinating article on what goes on behind the scenes in the art-dealing world.
3
This article gives a great perch on so many interesting subjects. Family and inheritance, national traditions, passion,art valuation, ambition, intrigue, expertise, deceit, and so on.
It is also part adventure in the old world.
Well done.
14
First of all, thanks to the NYT for researching and publishing this kind of subjects. This is why I subscribe.
I'm not American but I do also favor Vermeer over Rembrandt. The latter is too dark (both visually and spiritually) for me. But it's always fascinating to learn more about the behind-the-scene world of art.
13
Kudos Russell Shorto. Maybe not a Rembrandt, but this article too conveys the human essence of Jan Six XI in an intelligible way, as well as a fascinating behind the scenes peek at the world of art dealers at the highest level. And I love the accompanying photos of the paintings, some of which I have seen. Makes me want to go back to the Netherlands.
32
Thank you for this winding narrative of aesthetic love and professional intrigue. Human passion in the visual arts propels artists to work, pulls viewers into introspection, and compels many of us to take a deep dive into our own particular enthusiasms.
22
The author did not say whether Bijl produced anything evidencing an agreement with Six. Bijl’s production of email showing he recognized the Rembrandt of his own cognizance is irrelevant to whether there is an agreement.
It is quite something to sully a man’s achievement when the agreement is in your own mind. There is no harm in letting a potential competitor bidder believe what he wants.
Whether there is any breach of confidence is also quite a small matter and irrelevant to whether there is an agreement.
In America, his ability to strategize a counter manoeveur, in view of a new difficulty, would be celebrated.
I am glad he found 2 Rembrandts, blockbuster book sales, and has a TV show. Maybe he should move to America.
4
@Orion
In the art world - and in some circles, your WORD is the contract. Your reputation is the collateral. Which of course, leaves part of the story ambiguous - and so more interesting.
13
"Maybe he should move to America."
Well that was nicely catty and snobby all in one sentence! The issue of course is that Bijl was doing the cleaning work and then asked for more $$ when it became apparent it might be by Rembrandt. Mr Six called it blackmail and I can see how one would see it that way.
Why is Mr Six's efforts to get a good valuation terrible and Bijl's efforts to collect more money "or else" totally A-OK?
5
The article states that Bijl increased the rate "after Six demanded that he speed up his restoration work." If true, Bijl's is a reasonable response. While working on the Rembrandt full time wouldn't necessarily increase the number of hours Bijl worked per day, it would affect his other customer's satisfaction, and thus his professional reputation, for which he should be compensated.
The issue is that reporter doesn't state whether either Bijl has documentation confirming that Six requested that the restoration work completed on a faster timeline.
For all the times I feel overwhelmed by the massive amount of email I deal with daily, this article makes me appreciate it more for the documentation it provides!
1
Beautifully composed article with so many layers of human interest. Bravo Mr. Shorto and Mr. Six (et al)!
42
What a glorkous article. And so powerfully reminiscent for me.
Many years ago, I was 20, in London, and in a terrible personal crisis, with no one I felt I could talk to, as if I would have wanted to anyway.
I was wandering absently through the National Gallery, when I suddenly came upon Rembrandt's "Elderly man as St Paul."
I don't know what it was about the picture. This is not even one of the better known Rembrandts. This man wasn't thinking about himself, like so many of the ironic Rembrandt self-portraits do. He wasn't even looking at me. But this man was somehow staring directly into my soul, and with pure compassion.
That was the end of the wandering. I spent the rest of the afternoon fixed to that spot in front of the painting.t. And the same thing happened for the two successive days until I had to come back to the US.
Since then I have gone back on two occasions to look at the picture. It's still wonderful. But somehow it has never gripped me as it did in that moment of crisis. It's just another Rembrandt.
I thought of that experience repeatedly as I read this NYT article. Especially the experiment of turning off the lights and lighting the candles. There may just be something about his pictures that Rembrandt meant to illuminate different moments of emotion.
56
@Caroline
One's emotional response to any great work - or art or otherwise - is a combination of the work's own inner and exterior qualities and the degree of redeptivity in the onlooker.
When one is intensely emotional (but not so emotional as to be hysterical and out of control), for whatever reason, I think one is most open to art, drama, music, food - any complex product of human perception and effort. Those magic moments are when one's understanding of the world and one's place in it intensifies and advances.
6
@San Francisco Voter
I totally agree that this is a possibility.
But I wasn't looking for it to happen then. And nothing else in the National Gallery that afternoon had lit a spark. Nor has any other work since, despite various combinations of low moments and great art.
I've already done the test, as explained, of whether the "Elderly man" grabs so viscerally at "normal" moments (it didn't - at least for me). So the best test of whether the picture does indeed have a special "Rembrandt" magic that reveals itself only at a moment of the viewer's intense emotional stress will be to wait for another extremely low moment, then fly over and find other Rembrandt pictures in the city to stare at; then try another NG walk-though, comparing the "elderly man" to other candidates, by both Rembrandt and other artists. Maybe the NG will pay.
(BTW - I think the "elderly man's" trick lies partly in the solicitous angle of the head, but particularly in the eyes. Rembrandt somehow used their distinct differences to penetrate the viewer. One eye clearly has a target; the other is a big, dark pool. Several other of his portraits besides this one, especially in his later years, seem to have analogous eyes.)
3
What I love about this excellent article is: The World has been given a "new" Painting, from a true Master of Painting, AND of a canvas from his undiluted, pure and early years of first touching a brush to pigment. For an "early" Work, wow!
That is one amazing portrait .
The eye (and many years working in Art Conservation) that found this treasure are to be congratulated. Well done, Mr. Six. Here's to scanning the morning's Mail !
I especially like reading that you take your Kids to school via bicycle. Again, how beautiful, and Congratulations. May your heritage smile on your finding a true, and Local Treasure, and - also by cherishing your own, younger treasures.
May all of Holland, (and all of the rest of us), smile at this wonderful news.
36
A brilliant article. I will never look at a his paintings the same way again.
34
The Six family might be a good example of French economist Thomas Piketty's theory that there is far more semi-hidden Old Money than is reported in Forbes magazine lists of rich people, which Piketty argues are biased toward entrepreneurs. I don't see the Sixes listed by Forbes as billionaires, but just Rembrandt's portrait of Jan Six alone gets them 40% of the way there.
19
Doesnt the article mention at one point that the Sixes are not super wealthy these days.
I dont know about Piketty but most substantial wealth is hidden in offshore banks. Those Forbe's lists are not remotely reliable accordingly. Giant hidden wealth hails from China and Russia but of course there is hidden wealth everywhere. I just dont think the Six family has that kind of means.
6
@Steve Sailer The Six family doesn't own the paintings, nor the mansion they hang in. They may be comfortable (and living rent-free certainly helps), but if they've had to sell paintings to pay taxes, they are very far indeed from being billionaires.
6
@Steve Sailer
If the family does not sell them they are not rich.
1
What a brilliant piece of writing! I've been to Amsterdam and visited the Rijksmuseum to see the Rembrandts, but now want to go back and revisit now that I look at the art with a more discerning eye. Fascinating story too about the Six dynasty.
17
A completely lovely, interesting and thoughtful article. Thank you!!
33
I thoroughly enjoyed this piece - it is stirring the wanderlust to revisit Amsterdam and also the Hague, last visited many years ago.
Thanks to Mr. short for a fine telling of Jan Six XI and his family history - and introducing to me his family home with the wondrous art inside, sure to be included in my next visit. (I'm glad to see this in the NYTimes; I usually find intriguing articles on historical art on the BBC website and always enjoy them very much. Thank you!)
25
Like the discovery of Richard III’s skeleton underneath a Leicester car park, uncovering a “lost work” of Rembrandt is a real-life mystery story that is much more interesting than historical fantasies like the da Vinci Code. What a marvelous piece of writing, and thanks to the NYT for featuring the article so prominently.
As Mr Shorto points out, the Dutch were the first society in the world who, as exponents of “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,” supported artists who painted the world around them, including their fellow citizens, and not just religious and classical figures and the aristocracy. As a result, I can think of no other area of art where we have portraits of lay subjects still in the hands of descendants like Jan Six XI many centuries later, portraits whose timeless humanity still speak to us because of the secular vision of Rembrandt and other great Dutch masters.
58
Learned a lot from this article, thank you! Great insight into the art collecting and dealing world.
31
Vibrant writing with several layers of enjoyment. Mystery, history, art lecture and cultural feature. Thank you from an Iowa Lover of Rembrandt and the Netherlands.
24
@Don na Lee Olson
Wow what a great story. So moving .And the
commentariat has flipped out in unison.
Great research, perspectives and writing. Transfixing story for all art lovers and detectives alike, with CSI and Montagues and Capulet-type drama mixed in. While I hate to take sides with limited info, I don’t believe that Mr. Six cheated anyone. He was protective of a hunch and secretive and even that betrayed him with the small world in which he operated. He has or had no obligation to share it beyond those whom he chose. Funny how the art world wants to embrace it as a collective find when one inquisitive mind made it happen. Give credit where and as credit is due yet embrace the need to achieve validation through collective vetting. Great movie material.
42
In and of itself, a fascinating tale. Balanced, nuanced, compelling, and like a good mystery, its core plot, totally unexpected. I had heard this voice before. In "Island at the Center of the World". One of the most informative and transformative books I've had the pleasure to read. It sets America in stark contrast to the Philbrick expose of the real Pilgrims in his "Mayflower". Our aspirations for the America we eulogize prematurely were realized in New Amsterdam. That homage to the Dutch and our real progenitors of what we mythically fancy a Pilgrim legacy is brilliantly laid out by Shorto in that book. This was a great read, thank you Russell
21
Wonderful article, fabulously evocative writing. From the first paragraphs I was transported to Amsterdam and then to Rembrandt's time. Thank you.
47
Great piece. Absorbing and deeply researched, except for one thing I was dying to learn: the owner of the Young Gentleman portrait. We get no further than Christie's. Tracing the history of the ownership, insofar as it is available, would have been fascinating. Given the detail in the rest I can only assume that Christie's refused to reveal the owner. But that is an assumption.
22
Thank you, for opening a door to another world. I can feel the ages with your story.
30
A few graphs into this piece, it had me. I was struck by the fine writing and scrolled up to the byline. Russell Shorto, of course. Coincidentally, I was about to reserve his book on Amsterdam from the library. Now I know I must! Thank you for this superb article. My initial study was in art history, all the more reason I liked the story.
38
Great article. Unfortunately, depictions here of the paintings can never do them enough justice. If you haven't been to the Rijksmuseum, then you must visit. I am not easily impressed, but the first time I saw the Night Watch in person my jaw dropped. Simply stunning.
28
I’d love to know what the auction house has to say about a painting they let go for that low price. They have experts who must’ve seen what Six saw, yet didn’t regard it as a Rembrandt. Why not?
55
@Anglican School of Rembrandt" so, not so far off, and didn't have, after 350 years, any other links of attribution.
2
@Anglican Happy they didn't! It belongs where it is! It does not belong in a gross casino(Steve Winn) or a disgusting corporate stadium.
4
@Anglican: I imagine someone -- maybe a few people! -- have been fired, for letting a Rembrandt worth hundreds of millions go for about 150,000 euros!!!!
2
Ah yes, that funny situation where your family owns millions of dollars worth of art, and yet lack the money to even pay for its insurance. As someone whose family has an important collection of American art stretching back a mere three generations, worth nowhere near as much as Rembrandts and yet worth enough to be meaningful, many of Six's experiences seemed familiar: growing up surrounded by art, seeing familiar faces and brushstrokes in museums and reacting as if seeing long-lost friends, realizing that the art is both immensely valuable and yet valueless when not sold...
Thanks for a fascinating read.
54
Perhaps not so funny when you have to sell a Vermeer to pay your tax bill!
Another fascinating layer to this story, that something can be so valuable, yet maybe too costly to own.
Thanks Mr. Shorto.
3
@DS Or, in the case of my family, when you have to sell a painting to pay for your healthcare... And when the paintings that have been in your house go on semi-permanent "loan" to a museum, because at least that way they'll pay for the insurance and care, since you can't. I suppose it's nice to be able to go say hi, rather than seeing them disappear forever into someone else's collection.
It is truly remarkable that they have been able to keep the collection (more or less) together over so many generations.
10
I truly enjoyed this article, and then was not surprised when I realized who wrote it. I highly recommend anything written by Russell Shorto, a gifted author who can transport one to another age and another place in a remarkable manner. Try one of his full-length books for an inspiring and magical read.
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Loved this article and forwarded it to art-loving friends. Beautifully done and gripping all the way.
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I started to read the article because I read Russell Shorto’s Island at the Center of the Universe, which I found fascinating. Although I know only a little about Amsterdam, Rembrandt or the Art World I found this article equally as fascinating.
25
I am an engineer, and I appreciated art. This article was fascinating on many levels; the technology on deconstructing a painting, the unique method for painting the collar (and the reasoning for not making the pattern perfect), the use of a kind of bokeh to direct attention, the suggestion to use candlelight and original dark frames (and why), and of course the gossipy intrigue on the pair of paintings' re-discoveries. Thank you!
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Good article, but while not an expert, I do have a little experience and have my doubts about the painting. Two things stand out. 1. The background. I've never seen a Rembrandt with a grey back ground, and 2. That left hand of the sitter. I couldn't zoom in very close but it looks totally flat like a cartoon. Some are saying it's a glove. Ok, I'll buy that. Anyway, I'd like to see a hi-res. image to see everything more clearly, but I'll say my skepticism stands for the moment.
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Thanks for your humorous reminder about the limits of those of us who have a little experience but are not expert in a field. As noted, the hand is in a glove. The background gray depends on the lighting used in the photo and is in any event not unique for a Rembrandt.
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@Indestructible
I found the hand strange until I realized it was indeed a hand in a glove with the ends not quite filled by the fingers, a little point of the Master’s acute observations.
A wonderful, informative read.
6
Agree. This doesn’t look like any Rembrandt I have ever seen. It is not very interesting. If it is one, it is my least favorite.
1
I so appreciated Russell Shorto’s ‘Amsterdam: History of World’s Most Liberal City”, and it made such a difference in my experience there on first visit to Amsterdam in the past decade. Visiting Rembrandt’s House, though stripped of many authentic pictures and furniture, I found it had that stunning authentic essential light and color. I loved approaching his paintings again with this closeness.
15
Wonderful piece with history and backstory of a family so much like ours. Great writing thanks.
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I was reading sections of this article out loud to my husband. Fascinating story and a joy to read.
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I lived in Amsterdam for the summer of 2016 and visited many museums, some on Herengracht, but never heard of this one. I will put it in the list for my next trip to this enchanting city,
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Thank you Russell Shorto for introducing Americans to generations of the first Jan Six, and to a remarkable painting by Rembrandt. Your article brings Dutch art and culture alive as it existed in the early 1600s and exists today in the delightful co-mingling of old and quite new in the Netherlands now. Art and the artist create a bridge over the centuries, reminding us of our link to our ancestors. Kudos to the NYT for devoting so much news space to a beautifully written art piece.
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As I read this wonderful article I was reminded of Junichiro Tanizaki's "In Praise of Shadows." It is a marvelous and extended essay on the the perceptual injury rendered to traditional Japanese interiors, environments, objects and furniture by the advent of electricity.
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I throughly enjoyed this piece and have enjoyed reading the comments as well. I am particularly delighted to hear the chorus of praise for viewing these paintings by candle light, the way the collar is painted and that Vermeer, one of my heroes, gets the light and stillness right but that Rembrant was the one to bring the personality to life. A suggestion for those who have missed the boat on collecting old masters: Paintings that are done today will be the masters of tomorrow. Find art that speaks to you and you cannot go wrong; and it is probably affordable if you value the artist’s effort.
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Thanks very very much for the article. I saw a folder of Rembrandt prints at the thrift store last week. I said, "Wow." Sadly, I can't quite remember what it was that struck me, but I will be going back for it tomorrow.
17
Loved this article. So many great details and insights into the art itself. Especially enjoyed the point that the Old Masters art works were made to be seen by candlelight . . . I'll never look at a Rembrandt or think about it the same way again . . . Thank you!
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This is a wonderful piece; thank you to Russell Shorto and to the Times for publishing it.
I was fortunate enough several years ago to be planning a trip to Amsterdam when I learned about the Jan Six house museum, and even luckier to find tickets available. Since then, I've exhorted everyone I know who is on his way to Amsterdam to go see it. It's a wonderful treat, not only to see Rembrandt. For example, there is a portrait and then in a glass case, the gloves worn by the subject of the portrait. Where else can one see that? Go!
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My first experience of seeing Old Masters 'live' in a museum rather than on the page was deflating - why is everything so dark?
With time I realized that Low Country weather and scarce sources of lighting would have an impact on both colour and shadow. The idea of seeing them by candlelight is very appealing - as is the idea of watching a classical greek play in the early morning, with no electricity used.
Though we may appreciate these masterpieces, there is something to be said for replicating - if at all possible - the ways in which they were designed to be experienced.
I greatly enjoyed this article - this is the kind of feature that justifies the price of subsciption.
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@S North
Its funny.
Years ago when I first encountered Rembrandt paintings "face to face" in Amsterdam, I felt like jumping for joy, because the impact was so immediate. Alive. A dialogue bridging centuries.
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@S North
This was my experience with and opinion of Rembrandt too. When I first saw the Storm on the Sea of Galilee in the early eighties at the Gardner museum in Boston I was surprised how dark it was but then the museum had it cleaned and restored and the colors were vibrant, bright and beautiful. I think the darkness in many Rembrandt's is age. Sadly the Gardner's Rembrandt was stolen soon after it was restored. Hopefully it will be recovered someday.
Like the other commenters, I loved the article and thought it was wonderfully researched and written. Thank You.
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@S North 1) The nature of Baroque, especially the influence of Caravaggio; 2) the practice of building the figure up from a dark obscure background; 3) the nature of the varnish to accumulate grime (especially and ironically, under the illumination by candle!) and to discolor. Often the paintings need conservation and that is expensive.
4
Cool piece. I keep thinking of how I’d like to see a Rembrandt lace collar painting in a black frame by candlelight.
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To the list of recent novels, add the mesmerizing book Heretics by the Cuban writer Leonardo Padura, with its complex portrait of Rembrandt at the center of a modern mystery.
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This is such an enjoyable read; so many details and interesting twists. Thank you. I normally find articles like this in Vanity Fair, and it was a delight to find this here, instead.
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I smell a terrific movie in this story, with a brooding Daniel Day-Lewis like younger actor in the role of Six XI (the name!!).
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@Kemal Pamuk
Yes, I saw a screenplay as well. Can't wait to watch it at the cinema!
1
@Kemal Pamuk
Yes, I'd love to see the film version, and I'd suggest a younger version of Michael Fassbender in the role of Six XI.
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@Kemal Pamuk
Not every interesting story about art and painters needs to made into a film. If one sits quietly in front of "The Polish Rider" at the Frick, with no time limit, one can learn more about the painting and Rembrandt's ability to portray humanity, than a 2-hour necessarily fictionalized film can convey. An example - after seeing Kirk Douglas impersonate van Gogh, it takes quite a while to see van Gogh's work without Kirk leaning over your shoulder.
2
Like Rembrandt's paintings, this article had brilliantly illuminating moments of chiaroscuro. Thank you NY Times.
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Fascinating! This is such an interesting read. I was riveted from beginning to end. I haven’t read an article this good in a long time. Thank you!
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Russell Shorto never disappoints.
It's a wonderful to see Jan Six VI championing Old Masters. Moreover, I think it's fantastic he understands the collection benefits from public exposure. Reaching out to people and being enthusiastic about Old Masters is what will make the field thrive. Which is, unfortunately, why it's a shame to read the comment from the MFA curator pouring cold water on the relevance of Italian Baroque art. What a lamentable attitude! The public will be interested in Old Masters if they ARE presented in a interested way. Italian Baroque is not inherently inferior or uninteresting. As an art history student, it's quite sad to see one of the MFA's curators taking such an unenlightened view on the matter.
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@C.S. Moore - My sister married a Venetian and has three children. I'll never forget the time when I took my young (preteen) niece and nephew to visit the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. We wandered around, looking at works by Picasso, Braque, Mondrian, Magritte, Klee, Pollock, and the like. My niece and nephew were bored, and my niece said to me in all seriousness, "I don't like this art. It's ugly. Where are the Michelangelos?" Growing up surrounded by masterworks by Titian, Tintoretto, and Canaletto informed her taste from a very young age.
1
I love art so that is the reason that I started this article but as I progressed through the article, I was very impressed with the gift of Russell Shorto. His writing is incandescent. I will look for his name and read his pieces and his books. Many thanks to the New York Times for sharing this master writer.
I wish I could persuade him to use his gift to write about the inventive mind and interests of my friend, James Powell, who is dedicated to creating an energy system that will provide the growing world population with very cheap electricity. Powell's ideas are remarka
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@james jordan
Sorry. Hit the submit button accidently.
"Powell's ideas are remarkable and is the kind of creative thinking that will be required for the World's future. Much like Rembrandt's creative approach to painting the white collar, Powell is the inventor of superconducting magnetic levitation which can be used for transporting cargo trucks, as well as passengers, at 300 mph and in an airless tube can launch cargo spacecraft to geosynchronous orbit for less than 1% of the cost of a chemical rocket launch permitting the place of solar satellite in space to collect energy and transmit it to Earth. We write about this Powell's invention which is vital to civilization but have not been successful in attracting the attention of the editors of the NYTimes.
But after reading your article, I understand the level of writing required. However, I am working on it and the Shorto article will be the model.
2
A beautifully crafted story, well worthy of its subject.
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The "Portrait of a Young Gentleman’’ and the van Honthorst and Lievens portraits are all in period dark frames.
Zing! :)
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My congratulations to Russel Shorto for his fine article on Jan Six XI. I really appreciated the story's interest in how this Jan Six adjusted to his family role.
By the way, I'm such an American. When I first read the name, I thought Jan might be Chinese with the last name XI. Oi!
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What a wonderful, wonderful article. There is a most engaging appreciation throughout of great, unsurpassed beauty and its placement on canvas. I marvel at how it has survived throughout history and how its care and acquisition continues even to this day. Inscribed on the proscenium in Norton Hall theater at the Chautauqua Institute is the phrase: All Passes, Art Alone Endures. I marveled at this truth the very first time I saw a summer opera production there - so many, many years ago. The wonderful article rings true on so many levels.
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Thank you, Mr. Shorto for your exquisite article. I was transported to different worlds while I read it and will continue to savor it.
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What an illuminating piece. I hung on every word. On a small point, however, I want to offer an opinion. Yes, many Americans prefer Vermeer to Rembrandt, I agree, and I am one of them. About five years ago, while the Mauritius museum was closed for renovations, it allowed some of its greatest paintings to travel. I was lucky enough to see the exhibit at the Frick in New York City. The self-portrait of Rembrandt on display is a masterwork that captures the artist’s inner soul. It moved me. But the painting that had me riveted for more than an hour, all by itself, was Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” She was given the royal treatment, a room of her own, whereas all the other great Dutch masterpieces were lined up, one beside another, in an adjoining room. No matter where I stood in her room, the “Girl with the Pearl Earring” followed me with her eyes. I stood here, there, close, far, to the right, to the left, and she stared at me, boring into my heart. Maybe it was the camera obscura technique that Vermeer used, but her enigmatic yet piercing glance and the composition of the painting touched me as no other painting ever has. So let’s celebrate Rembrandt but let’s also give Vermeer his due.
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Just as there is a Rembrandthuis, i.e., house of Rembrandt in Amsterdam, there is a Mauritshuis, i.e., house of prince Maurits of Orange, now a museum in the Hague, not a Mauritius house, named after the island.
3
@Barbara Ann— since when has Vermeer not been given his due? “Girl with the Pearl Earring” was made into a movie, and appears on more tchotchkes than any other painting I can think of, except possibly the Mona Lisa!
1
Having just read the novel, I was entranced with “The Goldfinch”.
2
This wonderful story held, for me, a subtext that, while unspoken, remained a telling theme. The contradictions inherent in Six's position in the art world as a dealer versus his ancestral position as incipient guardian of a great collection, both admixed with his evolving love of art per se, must offer him moments of moral crisis we can only imagine.
Also, his avowed repudiation of his aristocratic lineage is contradicted by everything he says, which carries overtones of contempt for the commonplace, and those who admire it.
The question of the proper venue of art – private ownership or public viewing spaces – is probably no longer relevant in an age of astronomical prices and avaricious auction houses, but I cannot help but wonder if this story would be more than a footnote at an earlier time.
The unanswered question to me, is: did van de Weterling know he was expected to keep the discovery confidential, and, if he had, would Bijl still have recognized the painting as a Rembrandt?
13
The description about the bobbin lace technique alone is worth the price of the month's subscription. Every time I hear about the ways in which genius is achieved I am moved almost beyond bearing.
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Couldn’t agree more !!!
4
For those who concerned about the finished quality of the hand in the "young gentleman" portrait, I suggest that the gentlemen is wearing a glove. Like so many of the others commenting, I really appreciated reading this, a wonderful story and wonderfully told and a great relief from so much of the "other" stuff mentioned in the comments.
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@Mike The article actually mentions it's a glove. "“I love the glove and the cuff — very elegant. " says Six. I'm surprised so many people missed that.
3
Over the course of my 68 yr old life I’ve been able to see, several times, all the portraits mentioned here, save for the just discovered.
Thank you to the Metropolitian Museum of New York!
Particularly searing were the juxtaposition of Rembrandt’s self portraits at a show a number of years ago at the Met, from haughty man about town, to broken old man painted with an inestimable honesty.
No artist’s work moves me more than Rembrandt’s save for Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni.
25
I found the notion of looking at Rembrandt's works sans gold frames and lit only by candlelight to get their full impact to be most interesting. Six indicated that he is not a Vermeer man. I can understand that. But comparing Rembrandt with Vermeer is like apples and oranges. Both are very fine appealing to different tastes. I think that if you value looking at something warts and all maybe and yet so skillfully crafted with a luminous, and maybe even numinous, quality Rembrandt has something vital to say to you from 350 years ago.
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What a great story and well-spun narrative. Thank you. I'm dying to hop on a plane to Amsterdam now to visit museums and appreciate this oft-forgotten heritage.
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Having lived in Amsterdam, I very much appreciated the details of life in Amsterdam in the article (gezelligheid!) along with the fascinating story. Well written!
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@PN I was exactly thinking the same, although I'm living in The Hague :) This article is very well written and bring these Golden Age paintings to life.
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I found this article fascinating. Though not being an artist or art historian I cannot pass judgement on the validity of the Rembrandt. But it gives me an opportunity to say that such as Six and now the newly American rich hedge fund people have put art beyond our ability to purchase art. What I bought for very little a long time is impossible to so do today . I treasure what I have and give to my grown children which ever painting they desire. Otherwise we have to content ourselves with going to the museums. But the museums are so crowded it is difficult to feel an important personal
reflation
Thank you NY Times Magazine for the article
23
The hands in the young gentleman portrait look very similar to those in some established Rembrandt portraits. The hands look almost like a claw.
6
Fascinating article and how the art world moves! Thank you!
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@Anuradha Chimata
Utterly cutthroat, but extremely well turned out.
Oh, of course he studied art history in college. Why wouldn't he?
Why wouldn't any "aristocrat?"
Anything else would be beneath them.
7
@Moehoward I personally know of two people who majored in art history in university. One was the son of a doctor so, okay, maybe that fits your dismissal. But the other was the son of working class Cuban immigrants who grew up in one of Los Angeles' hardscrabble suburbs located immediately east of downtown. We're only as limited as our vision.
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@Moehoward i studied art and art history in college, graduating with a combined BA because i love art and the history of art. upon graduation, i was unable to find work in the field of art history. ended up in the basement of a small gallery for two years, framing art and helping with minor restorations here and there. i’m no aristocrat and ended up taking a job in advertising to pay the bills - your point of view regarding those who study (and love) art history is inaccurate and prejudicial.
26
@Moehoward I taught AP Art History for 16 years at Bonita Vista HS in Chula Vista, CA, and about 20 of my student went on to earn degrees in Art History at Yale, UCLA UCSB, UCSD, UCSC, UCB, CSUSF, Tulane, Brandeis; one currently at UCL working on a Masters - and not one 'aristocrat' among them - but many fine young scholars and Humanists!
4
They can call those same dealers in the Middle East.
"Y'remember how we found that lost Da Vinci paintin' a few years back? Well... (chuckles) guess what we just found now!"
It didn't sound like a question over the phone.
1
Rembrandt’s most important contribution to the world was his impact on Francisco Goya.
There are few bodies of artistic work that speak as much truth as ‘The Black Paintings’.
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This is why I subscribe to the NYT.
Now if your political writers could be enticed to read such reviews, they could be so much richer to read.
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A great suggestion. This article and others are why I subscribe to the NYT
2
This article provided a splendid antidote to the jumbo-sized serving of depressing news in the rest of today's NYT. I can look into the face of Rembrandt's subject and forget for a moment about the tragedy of Pakistani-sponsored terrorism in India and the spectacle of the Cohen testimony in Washington. Thank you, Russell Shorto. Thank you very much.
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View Rembrandt's paintings in candlelight with black picture frames. Get rid of the "noise!" Brilliant!
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@Leopold Yes, one can easily imagine how the details would spring forward, and the faces seem to move and come to life (not unlike the pictures in Harry Potter). Wouldn't it be great if galleries could have optional lighting that approximated the candlelit interiors these Old Masters lived and exhibited in. (Not real candles, presumably, as the smoke would not be good for the paintings.) But surely fake candlelight is doable in this day and age?
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@Leopold
But not real candlelight. Visit Christian shrines in Israel where the monks insist on the old ways and artis covered with soot.
3
Fine article that make the subscription worthwhile. And not a word on gender!
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@T.R.Devlin
How bout the fact that Rembrandt had his children's nursemaid (and most likely his lover subsequent to his wife's death after childbirth) locked up in an institution?
2
Except when Rembrandt tried to commit his maid turned lover into an asylum...
One of the best articles the Times has published in a long time.
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It is no wonder that Jan Six sits on the arm of that his chair (see photo). Look at the seat of the chair....it appears to have a very deep depression in the middle.
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@Errol
The chair gave me a laugh! But it speaks to how sturdy it is, made of fruit wood 200 plus years ago, with needlepoint. It speaks to reverence for something very old and the risks of repairing it, as Jan Six Xl sits on the arm.
19
Fascinating read. Thanks NYT!
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I wonder to what extent this man is believed due to his “storied” background. He just looks like a man to me.
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@Odhran
What?? Vincent Van Gogh looked like a man but I bet he painted better than you, me and anyone else. Bach looked like a man, etc. etc. etc.
1
I wouldn’t kick Mr. Six VI out of bed. He can talk to me about Rembrandts any time!
2
ah, Rembrandt! as human as his admirers...
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Wonderful coverage. Rembrandt life long fave. Love way he painted light on hands like one on center guy in Night Watch.
Then at end article as I read summary comments, "That therefore, perhaps, identity, with all its flaws and insecurities, its jets of insight and pools of empathy, as individual as it is, is at the same time universal." bells went off. Thought, what's that?
Turns out similar thought in upcoming contemporary realism show at Denese/Corey reception Thurs night, Personal Spaces.
“What is most personal is most universal” – Carl R. Rogers
7
"“I know a lot of Americans love Vermeer"
As opposed to everyone else in the world? As opposed to the Dutch, who have elevated him to an industry?
What a strange need to sluff off Vermeer on Americans.
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@Matthew
I love Vermeer and I am Canadian. I'm pretty sure the Dutch don't confuse us and Americans. I think you can love Vermeer and Rembrandt and lots of other artists too. Unless you're in the business it's not a contest. I love many, many artists and dislike lots too. Even hate some of the so-called new ones but those who pay millions for them don't care what I think. I wish I could stay around for a few hundred years to see how it goes for Damian Hurst but that won't happen. Actually, it probably won't take that long.
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@Matthew My guess is: because the person interviewing him is an American?
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@Matthew I assumed he mentioned Americans because he was talking to an American, the author of this article.
1
This article alone makes my NYT subscription worth every penny!
Thank you.
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Thank you, NYT, for a delightful foray away from the Michael Cohen testimony today. A fascinating read on art, controversy, human nature, etc.
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Sorry, if this was already mentioned. Can you explain the hands? They don't look finished.
3
It states clearly the hands are gloved. Indicating to me that one of Rembrandt’s students painted them.
@Jeff C:
The article says that the hand in the recently discovered "Portrait of a Young Gentleman" painting is gloved. The cloth fingertips bend outward, as would an oversized silken glove.
Amazing work!
@Jeff C. I thought that too. According to the text the hand is gloved.
Rembrandt is great but when it comes to portraits Frans Hals is better.
4
After a very lengthy analysis, Ernst van de Wetering authenticated “Portrait of a Young Gentleman” as genuine in May 2018, placing it as Rembrandt painting No. 342. More than a dozen other leading Rembrandt experts have also endorsed it, including Norbert Middelkoop at the Amsterdam Museum.
I was very fortunate to see this portrait during its limited run at the Hermitage Amsterdam last year. Not as fortunate as Six though, who snapped this up for
Imagine discovering a previously unknown Rembrandt, recognizing it for what it is, and then purchasing it for what may amount to pennies - at a Christie's auction, of all places! This has been an incredibly exciting story in the art world over the past year, with much more promise and potential than the dubious Salvator Mundi.
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Wow! What a fascinating story, told so well. Pity that Six allowed the wonder and brilliance of his discoveries to be consumed by his ego. The other characters seem like fine people to work with. Great story, regardless, really well written and chock full of detail, could not put it down!
12
Where are Phillip and Fiona when you need them?
4
What does Beltracchi have to say about this painting?
1
The NYT's reading like a long form from the New Yorker. Exhilarating. Well done, Mr. Shorto.
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What a terrifically engaging article--and better written than any Dan Brown novel. If Mr. 6/11 did, like Icarus, fly too close to the sun, he did it with a great passion for the art he loves so much.
Should he turn out to be too concerned with reputation and accolades, well that just makes him human--like those Rembrandt merchants and burghers, staring at the artist, slightly uncomfortable with their notoriety.
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What a lovely piece!...I think differently about Rembrandt now (the lace!), and I remain unmoved by the controversy. Dealing with such beauty up close can turn so many heads.
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"Flemish still lives" confused me on 1st & 2nd reading.
also "still lives of tables laden with food"
The plural of still life is still lifes.
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@m.pipik Good catch.
But the art of the still life still lives today in still lifes!
6
Some one once told me that Rembrandt always painted two portraits or perspectives shall we say in any given portrait. The inner person and the one that was the public face. This can be seen in many of his portraits simply by covering one half of the subject's face and then the other. In so doing he strove to show the different aspects of the sitter, the complexity of this style of portraiture was indeed a way to capture the personality of the subject which gives the depth to the character we perceive, whom had complexities of their own. And to me communicated Rembrandt's perceptions more subtly, but also made the viewing that more engaging. I am not Aware of whether or not the people he painted understood this about his portraiture technique but I have always enjoyed holding my hand up in front of my eyes and covering one side of a rembrandt portrait's face and then switching and covering the other to see what Rembrandt with saying about this person through the subtle changes in expression particularly around the eyes.
21
The description of how the bobbin lace collar was painted blew me away.
"He first painted the jacket, then over it the collar area in white, then used black paint to create the negative spaces in the collar."
Wait, what?
And, Russell Shorto, you are a wonderful writer. I loved "Island at the Center of the World," too.
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Thank you nytimes and Russell Shorto. Stories such as this one are why I pay a subscription fee.
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exactly my sentiments too, lovely to wake up and spend a while reading stories such as this!
thank you Russel and nyt
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@Vanessa Hall, absolutely.
2
@Vanessa Hall
Indeed:
“My overall impression from the visit was of something out of a Thomas Mann novel: faded grandeur and an air of antique stillness, overseen by a wizened and mildly vexed aristo.”
Exquisite prose
3
There is something to be said about seeing a Rembrandt in person. While The Night Watch comes off best in reproductions, my favorite works by Rembrandt revealed themselves to me only when I saw them in person: The Return of the Prodigal Son in St. Petersburg and The Jewish Bride in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (just a short distance from The Night Watch).
Both paintings are delicate, personal, and suffused with the overwhelming, almost mystically perfect and selfless love that only a parent can feel for his child. You can stare at the faces forever, at the details of the hands in The Jewish Bride, and the pathetically cast off shoe in The Prodigal Son, and feel that love, its inherent sacrifice, wash over you.
Six is right; Vermeer plays well in a forced perspective, jewel box way but his human faces are empty. The Girl with the Pearl Earring is pretty but carries little meaning besides capturing the cusp of youth and its soft beauty. It is in the presence of a Rembrandt that you feel humbled.
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@Dottie When we say that "it is too bad that so-and -so doesn't do such-and-such" we are realizing 2 things: that the intention, then, must have been otherwise; and that our expectations are out of alignment with those intentions. Vermeer, in context, is not making portraits but working in an altogether different tradition. Basically, to say that Vermeer isn't Rembrandt is true, but trivial.
4
@Dottie
Can't we like them all?
1
Great story. With all the intrigue, money, and secrecy, it has all the makings of a Hollywood movie. But as the saying goes, truth is far stranger than anything a screenwriter can conjure up.
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Wonderfully written story! Thank you, Mr. Shorto.
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"Wonderfully written" was also my reaction. Loved it.
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I agree. Well written, engaging, intriuing. @TJ
10
I can’t help but notice that the Portrait of a Young Man looks very like a younger version of the first Jan Six, cleft chin and all. Hmmm. Interesting. I love stories about art mysteries and chicanery, thanks for this intriguing version! If anyone should want to read a wonderful novel on the topic, I can highly recommence The Flanders Panel by Arturo Perez-Revuerte.
22
The sleuthing that goes into identification of master work paintings is always intriguing because so much seems to rest on intangibles: the eye of the expert and often simply intuition. Other details are more verifiable such as unique materials or method - such as Rembrandt uniquely painting in the empty space in the lace rather than the lace itself as stated in this article (was it Mr Six’s assertion?), yet “experts” still argue. It seems to throw all attributions that the artist’s own records fail to corroborate into some doubt. The question then becomes, does it matter? Except for the money of course. But art is great when it speaks to you, not because it costs a lot.
The current art world seems to have missed that point - long artists statements and explanations about what a work “means” have replaced that thrill of simply standing rapt in front of a great work because you simply just can’t walk away. The sadness expressed on the face of Rembrandt’s Bathsheba as she reads King David’s letter always makes me want to cry.
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Just look at the face of this new Rembrandt "discovery" portrait and compare it with
the very real Rembrandt we cherish in Museums. Look at the brush strokes, the colors of this new discovery (where actually are?) and compare it with the "real" Rembrandt's magnificent portraits. When the "art world" will stop of cheating for profit motives, even the real, long gone artists?
3
@Maita Moto Are we surprised that an early work is inferior to a mature one? I'm not. There is compelling physical evidence and not just prejudiced opinion on this work.
@Maita Moto —thank god we have you to keep experts honest! Unfortunately some of the most beloved “real” Rembrandts, such as “Man in the Golden Helmet” have turned out to be by someone else. Or maybe not. We all consider ourselves to have perfect vision when it comes to deciding who’s in and who’s out, but sometimes we fall flat on our discerning eyes.
Sitting in a canal-side flat in Amsterdam I was excited to read this article. The Dutch are so distinct in every way and living here again has brought so many things into focus. Once a year the neighboring town of Haarlem host a weekend outdoor market in the Grote Markt, the central brick-lined town square, wherein all participant dress in 15th century garb, sell authentic period crafts, produce, live chickens, beer and wine. It’s as if no time had past, your neighbors, your grocer, your pharmacist all look straight out of Rembrandt paintings. Indeed Mr. Six’s DNA shines through the old masterworks which, at least once a weekend in Haarlem look immediately contemporary.
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I barely passed the only Art class I took.
I would love to be able to paint at 1/100th of the ability
that Rembrandt had.
Why anyone would want a work of Modern Art
instead of a work by Rembrandt is beyond me.
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@John Brown So true. I go to two massive art festivals in Austin every year and visit over 100 artist studios and few artists can paint realistic portraiture. I've commissioned several pieces but they aren't even a tenth as brilliant as a Rembrandt, John Singer Sergeant or Caravaggio
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@John Brown
But why would anyone have to choose? Modern and contemporary artists don't want to be Rembrandts or Vermeers, they want to reflect the 21st century. I and most art lovers I know can appreciate both. One just comes to them with a different perspective. If my two favorite artists are Vermeer (so sue me--not Rembrandt) and Miro, that may make me more open-minded and give me a wider field to love.
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@Joan
I like Vermeer, Miro does not move me.
Why must the 20th/21st century be reflected
in such distortions of reality ?
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It is so odd to me remembering my vast disappointment with Dutch masters when I finally got to Amsterdam, and the utter brilliance of my experience in the Van Gogh there... and yet there is still the lingering obsession with the father of Dutch vanity, Rembrandt. A South African friend once tried to explain to me that in Europe the Dutch are considered crazy by all standards. I don't think he was aware of how I hold "crazy" in high esteem. But the controversy detailed in this wonderful article doesn't surprise me at all. And it wouldn't surprise me to find that the Dutch as much as anyone know that controversy sells.
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Combined with the story Jan Six XI has told in his book on this Portrait of a Young Gentleman, and supplemented by Shorto's own experiences in Amsterdam, this piece provides a nice summary in English of accounts already given in the two leading Dutch newspapers, De Volkskrant and NRC-Handelsblad. Obviously, the Dutch media have gone into far greater detail here than would matter to an American audience.
Their reports, however, also included an important omission in Shorto's sketch: that these Rembrandt associations by Six have been much more seriously contested since first made. In another NRC article from 21 December 2018, for example, Sandra Smallenburg quoted 'solidly underpinned' objections that art historian Ivonka Ciepielak has raised to the portrait's attribution (in an October issue of Argus), while additionally noting that Rijksmuseum director Taco Dibbits is 'any case not interested' in its acquisition. She further voices an increasingly skeptical view towards both recent Rembrandt discoveries, given that art circles are commemorating the 350th anniversary of his death this year.
Even when the Old Masters aren't as avidly or advantageously collected as before, it would seem there's still plenty of cause for their commodification -- especially when one's own identity is connected so closely with their identification.
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If the Portrait of a Young Gentleman was originally part of a larger painting, one would think that the edges of the canvas, where the cuts were made, would look different in some way.
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@Jeff What you pointed out is exactly what I thought the instant I read about it. I was dumbfounded that it was never mentioned again.
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The Louvre's portraits by Rembrandt and his students are in the museum's far corner, far from the crowds. To get to them, one passes through a wonderland of sparsely-visited old masters, including lots of religious paintings, for which there must be little market.
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What a beautifully written narrative about a man, art and an enduring relationship among artist, family and nation that spans generations.
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The Night Watch remains my favorite work of art, ever. All that is said here about the faces of people and the emotions they convey is written into every member of that odd cross between a neighborhood watch and an overzealous militia. You can see apprehension, alcohol fueled bravado, stern determination... you feel as though you have come to know each person so well. It's an incredible insight into a cultural moment.
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@David Dyte My first visit to the Rijksmuseum took me to the grand room with the many group portraits. For me, Rembrandt's Anatomy Lesson followed by The Night Watch was like watching genius in action. In that room, I felt I was in the presence of some of the West's greatest accomplishments like hearing The Magic Flute or seeing King Lear. Your comments are spot on.
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@David Dyte
The local library where I grew up has an attached art gallery ( still there, but the gallery part is now the Arkell Museum). It had a full size reproduction of The Night Watch. It was only impressive in size - and darkness. It turned out that, although it was considered a good repro, it was covered under years of grime. Saw the original which was a revolution,- and eventually the repro was cleaned, to allow those facial expressions to shine through.
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The detail is fantastic; the crush of the dark velvet suit and the intricacies of that delicate lace collar against it. Genius treasure.
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A fascinating read. Martin Bijl comes off as a person who speaks out of both sides of his mouth so one would think his reputation would be at stake in this matter too. Yet for some reason the art world sees only Mr Six as the slippery one?
The blurrier darker shadows in "Portrait of a Young Gentleman" are curious and it is interesting that some think the portrait was once part of a larger canvas.
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@K Henderson
Establishing slipperiness in the art world is easy. Start with that premise across the board and you will be correct.
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@K Henderson
The “Young Gentleman” portrait’s left hand does not appear to be Rembrandt quality. Can someone explain why it is so poorly done?
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@David Contant
Re the left hand, I assumed it had to be a glove, not a bare hand.
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