| Suffer little children to come unto me | |
|---|---|
| Let the Little Children Come to Me | |
 | |
| Artist | Rembrandt  |
| Year | 1620s |
| Dimensions | 122 cm (48 in) × 104 cm (41 in) |
Suffer little children to come unto me or Let the Little Children Come to Me, is a painting attributed to the Dutch painter Rembrandt. The subject of the portrait is the teaching of Jesus about little children and it is estimated that Rembrandt painted it in Leiden in the 1620s. [1]
The painting was rediscovered by Dutch art dealer Jan Six in 2016. He is a direct descendant of Jan Six, a 17th-century burgher who sat for one of Rembrandt’s most important paintings, Portrait of Jan Six . The painting is dated to the 1620s and grouped under the growing list of paintings in Rembrandt's oeuvre known as his "juvenalia". It was kept secret pending investigation and restoration and was meant to be announced and introduced to the public at the opening of a Rembrandt exhibition at the Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden, scheduled to open 1 November 2019, but rumors prevented insiders from keeping it secret. [1] Six asked an investor to buy it at Lempertz auction for €1,525,000. [2]
The painting had previously been known and rejected by experts, though all were in agreement as to the large amount of overpainting and it was during removal of this overpaint that convincing details were revealed such as the color purple used for clothing. The subject and arrangement of figures was inspired by a 1619 work by Pieter Lastman (formerly in Frederiksborg, lost in 1859 fire) and later formed the inspiration for another work previously attributed to Rembrandt and now listed as circa 1652 by his pupil Nicolaes Maes:
The painting includes a self portrait of the young Rembrandt, a portrait of his mother, and other motifs known through his history paintings:
Other history paintings by Rembrandt from the 1620s also show a man in shadow wearing a turban in profile:
Nicolaes Maes was a Dutch painter known for his genre scenes, portraits, religious compositions and the occasional still life. A pupil of Rembrandt in Amsterdam, he returned to work in his native city of Dordrecht for 20 years. In the latter part of his career he returned to Amsterdam where he became the leading portrait painter of his time. Maes contributed to the development of genre painting in the Netherlands and was the most prominent portrait painter working in Amsterdam in the final three decades of the 17th century.
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is a 1632 oil painting on canvas by Rembrandt housed in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, the Netherlands. It was originally created to be displayed by the Surgeons Guild in their meeting room. The painting is regarded as one of Rembrandt's early masterpieces.
Jan Lievens was a Dutch Golden Age painter who was associated with his close contemporary Rembrandt, a year older, in the early parts of their careers. They shared a birthplace in Leiden, training with Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam, where they shared a studio for about five years until 1631. Like Rembrandt he painted both portraits and history paintings, but unlike him Lievens' career took him away from Amsterdam to London, Antwerp, The Hague and Berlin.
Cornelis de Vos was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and art dealer. He was one of the leading portrait painters in Antwerp and is best known for his sensitive portraits, in particular of children and families. He was also successful in other genres including history, religious and genre painting. He was a regular collaborator with Rubens.
Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence.
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art and the most important in Dutch art history. It is estimated Rembrandt produced a total of about three hundred paintings, three hundred etchings and two thousand drawings.
Nicolaes Tulp was a Dutch surgeon and mayor of Amsterdam. Tulp was well known for his upstanding moral character and as the subject of Rembrandt's famous painting The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp.
Jan Six was an important cultural figure in the Dutch Golden Age.
Nicolaes Eliaszoon Pickenoy was a Dutch painter of Flemish origin. Pickenoy was possibly a pupil of Cornelis van der Voort and presumably Bartholomeus van der Helst was his own pupil.
Cornelis van der Voort or van der Voorde was a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter from the early 17th century.
Joris van Schooten (1587–1651) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and the uncle of the Leiden mathematician Frans van Schooten.
The Rembrandt Research Project (RRP) was an initiative of the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO), which is the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. Its purpose was to organize and categorize research on Rembrandt van Rijn, with the aim of discovering new facts about this Dutch Golden Age painter and his studio. The project started in 1968 and was sponsored by NWO until 1998. Research continued until 2014. It was the authority on Rembrandt and had the final say in whether a painting is genuine. The documentation generated by the project was transferred to the Netherlands Institute for Art History and renamed the Rembrandt Database.
Jacob Isaacszoon van Swanenburg was a Dutch painter, draftsman and art dealer. He was known for his city views, history paintings, Christian religious scenes and portraits. He spent a substantial part of his early career in Italy before returning to his native Leiden. He was the teacher of the young Rembrandt.
Portrait of Jan Six is a 1654 oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn. Having been handed down many generations, via the direct descendants of the portrait's subject, Jan Six, the work remains in the Six Collection in Amsterdam.
Portrait of a Woman Wearing a Gold Chain is a 1634 portrait painted by Rembrandt. It shows a smiling woman with a triple lace collar. It is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Portrait of Petronella Buys (1610–1670) is a 1635 portrait painting painted by Rembrandt. It shows a young woman with a very large and impressive millstone collar. It is in a private collection.
Portrait of a Young Gentleman is a c. 1635 painting attributed to the Dutch painter Rembrandt. The painting has not yet been catalogued as by Rembrandt, but was sold as "circle of Rembrandt" by Christie's in London for GBP 137,000.
Jonkheer Jan Six, also known as Jan Six XI, is a Dutch art dealer and art historian.
The Standard Bearer is a three-quarter-length self-portrait by Rembrandt formerly in the Paris collection of Elie de Rothschild, and purchased by the Rijksmuseum for 175 million euros with assistance from the Dutch state and Vereniging Rembrandt in 2021. It was painted on the occasion of the artist's move from Leiden to Amsterdam and is seen as an important early work that "shows Rembrandt's ambition to paint a group portrait for the Amsterdam militia, at the time the most valued commission a painter could be awarded."
Heinz Kisters was a German entrepreneur, art dealer and art collector.