Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn

The identity of this young man has been the subject of much dispute amongst Rembrandt scholars. The fact that he wears a velvet cap has led many to believe that he must be a painter, positing Ferdinand Bol, Gerard Dou or Johannes van Vliet as possible candidates. The discovery of an inscription in a 17th century hand reading Petrus Sylvius on a fine impression belonging to The Late Dr. S. William Pelletier (his sale, Sotheby's, London, 2 December 2004, lot 56) has led Dieuwke de Hoop Scheffer to identify the sitter as the son of the preacher Jan Cornelis Sylvius. Like his father, Petrus Sylvius was a preacher, and De Hoop Scheffer has suggested that the etching may have been made on the occasion of his appointment as a minister in Sloten, possibly even as a gift by Rembrandt.