Like a ‘prodigal son,’ an early painting by Rembrandt has returned to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, 65 years after it was ‘disinherited’ and sold off when experts said it wasn’t really a Rembrandt.
The portrait of Zacharias, father of John the Baptist with the archangel Gabriel, was displayed at the museum from 1898 until 1960; the current owner, who has lent it to the museum on a long-term basis, bought it the next year.
New technology, developed for analysis of The Night Watch restoration project was used to take a new look at the painting. Experts examined macro-XRF scans of the materials used in the painting and compared them to known works by Rembrandt, along with the stylistic and thematic qualities, to reach their conclusion.
Rembrandt painted the picture in 1633, when he was in his mid-20s and had recently moved to Amsterdam from his home town of Leiden.
