Live Auction 22952The Sam Josefowitz Collection: Graphic Masterpieces by Rembrandt van Rijn
REMBRANDT HARMENSZ. VAN RIJN (1606-1669)
Lot 45

REMBRANDT HARMENSZ. VAN RIJN (1606-1669)

Man in a broad-brimmed Hat

Closed7 December 2023

Price Realised

GBP 10,080

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REMBRANDT HARMENSZ. VAN RIJN (1606-1669)
Man in a broad-brimmed Hat
etching
1630
on laid paper, without watermark
a fine impression of this scarce print
printing strongly and clearly
still showing the smudges below the sitter's left eye
just beginning to show a little wear below the hat
with small margins
in very good condition
Plate 80 x 65 mm.
Sheet 86 x 68 mm.

With P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London (their stocknumber C26370 in pencil verso).
With August Laube, Zurich.
Sam Josefowitz (Lugt 6094); acquired from the above in 1970; then by descent to the present owners.

Specialist note

The sitter of this small portrait has been tentatively identified as a Jewish Doctor or the collector and bookseller Samuel Smijters (see Hinterding, 2008, p. 533). With no concrete evidence either way, he still remains unnamed. It is a rare etching, and given the small size of the plate, the peculiar expression of the man and his rakish hat, it may well be considered a small study (or ‘tronie’) rather than a genuine portrait. What’s certain is that it exudes a distinctive charm and great immediacy, as the man seems to address us directly.