DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.68073#0238
212
OLD WORLD MASTERS
AN OLD LADY SEATED IN AN ARMCHAIR.
Rembrandt van Rijn Collection of the
(1606-1669). Hon. Andrew W. Mellon.
This splendid portrait, oils on canvas (42% x 35X inches), takes
rank with Rembrandt’s famous study of Elizabeth Bas, widow of
Admiral Swartenhout, in the Rijks Museum, Amsterdam. It is
three-quarters length, life-size, and signed on the left “Rembrandt F.
1643.” The subject is seated in an arm-chair of red leather with her
head turned slightly to the left and she is looking in the same direc-
tion. She wears a black costume with a tightly fitting jacket lined
with fur, a large flat, round, and gauffered ruff, and a flat, dark velvet
cap. Her arms rest easily on the arms of the chair and in the right
hand she is holding her eyeglasses, while the fingers of her left hand
are placed between the leaves of a large book—presumably a Bible,
with silver clasps and gilt edges,—a marvellous piece of still-life
painting. The background is dark of the brownish Rembrandt tone
and the light falls from the left upon the face of the sitter and upon
her large ruff. Dr. Bode, in speaking of the lighting of this remarkable
portrait, says: “A strong light falls on the broad, gauffered ruff and
is reflected on the more softly illuminated face; another ray of light
touches the hands with their small white cuffs. The dull red of the
chair-back, the subdued glint of the gold edges and silver clasps of
the book relieve the blackish tone of the picture almost imperceptibly.
It takes a special place among Rembrandt’s portraits by reason of its
peculiarly distinguished harmony. In arrangement and illumination
it stands midway between the St. Petersburg Portrait of the Old Woman
and the numerous studies of old women painted between 1650 and
1660.”
The picture was sold in Amsterdam in 1764 and has passed through
the Collections of J. van der March, Amsterdam, 1773; M. Thelluson,
Paris, 1777; an anonymous Parisian collection, 1788; M. C. A. de
Calonne, London, 1795; Mr. J. Allmutt, London, 1863; and M. Louis
Lebeuf de Montsgermont, Paris.
OLD WORLD MASTERS
AN OLD LADY SEATED IN AN ARMCHAIR.
Rembrandt van Rijn Collection of the
(1606-1669). Hon. Andrew W. Mellon.
This splendid portrait, oils on canvas (42% x 35X inches), takes
rank with Rembrandt’s famous study of Elizabeth Bas, widow of
Admiral Swartenhout, in the Rijks Museum, Amsterdam. It is
three-quarters length, life-size, and signed on the left “Rembrandt F.
1643.” The subject is seated in an arm-chair of red leather with her
head turned slightly to the left and she is looking in the same direc-
tion. She wears a black costume with a tightly fitting jacket lined
with fur, a large flat, round, and gauffered ruff, and a flat, dark velvet
cap. Her arms rest easily on the arms of the chair and in the right
hand she is holding her eyeglasses, while the fingers of her left hand
are placed between the leaves of a large book—presumably a Bible,
with silver clasps and gilt edges,—a marvellous piece of still-life
painting. The background is dark of the brownish Rembrandt tone
and the light falls from the left upon the face of the sitter and upon
her large ruff. Dr. Bode, in speaking of the lighting of this remarkable
portrait, says: “A strong light falls on the broad, gauffered ruff and
is reflected on the more softly illuminated face; another ray of light
touches the hands with their small white cuffs. The dull red of the
chair-back, the subdued glint of the gold edges and silver clasps of
the book relieve the blackish tone of the picture almost imperceptibly.
It takes a special place among Rembrandt’s portraits by reason of its
peculiarly distinguished harmony. In arrangement and illumination
it stands midway between the St. Petersburg Portrait of the Old Woman
and the numerous studies of old women painted between 1650 and
1660.”
The picture was sold in Amsterdam in 1764 and has passed through
the Collections of J. van der March, Amsterdam, 1773; M. Thelluson,
Paris, 1777; an anonymous Parisian collection, 1788; M. C. A. de
Calonne, London, 1795; Mr. J. Allmutt, London, 1863; and M. Louis
Lebeuf de Montsgermont, Paris.