Head of Christ (Rembrandt, New York)

Last updated
Head of Christ
Head of Christ MET DP145916.jpg
Year1650s
Medium oil paint, canvas
Dimensions47.3 cm (18.6 in) × 37.1 cm (14.6 in)
Location Metropolitan Museum of Art
Accession No.17.120.222  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Identifiers RKDimages ID: 233255
The Met object ID: 437404

Head of Christ is a 1650s painting by Rembrandt's workshop. It shows Christ with a beard and long dark hair. It is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. [1]

Contents

Description

Rembrandt created several similar heads in varying poses, possibly as devotional objects. Today about a dozen are known. This one came into the collection via the Isaac D. Fletcher bequest.

This painting was documented by Hofstede de Groot in 1914, who wrote; "160. HEAD OF CHRIST. Bode 295; Dut. 78; Wb. 301; B.-HdG. 414. Long dark curls, a short full beard, and dark eyes. Turned to the right. In a brownish-red coat, showing at top the hem of the shirt. Strong light falls from the left on the upper part of the right side of the face. Dark background. Life size. Painted about 1659. Canvas, 18 1/2 inches by 14 1/2 inches. Mentioned by Bode, pp. 522, 597; by Dutuit, p. 51; by Michel, p. 563 [435]. Exhibited at Amsterdam, 1898, No. 109; in Paris, 1911, No. 125. Sale. J. Wandelaar, Amsterdam, September 4, 1759, No. 13 (5 florins 10, J. Enschede). In the possession of the Paris dealer C. Sedelmeyer, "Catalogue of 300 Paintings," No. 149. In the collection of Maurice Kann, Paris. In the possession of the Paris dealer F. Kleinberger. In the collection of Isaac D. Fletcher, New York." [2]

The painting was included in most Rembrandt catalogs of the 20th-century, only recently being rejected as autograph by the latest RRP catalog. It is, however, still connected with Rembrandt's workshop and is grouped together with all the other versions. It was included in the 2011 exhibition "Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus" held in the museums of Detroit (DIA), Philadelphia (PMA) and Paris (Louvre) April 21, 2011 – February 12, 2012, no. 46.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dirck Pesser</span> Dutch businessman

Dirck Jansz Pesser was a Dutch brewer from Rotterdam, best known today for his portrait by Rembrandt. He was an important member of the Rotterdam Remonstrant community in the early 17th century.

<i>Old Man with a Gold Chain</i> C. 1631 painting by Rembrandt

Old Man with a Gold Chain is a portrait by Rembrandt, painted around 1631 and now in the Art Institute of Chicago.

<i>Head of Christ</i> (Rembrandt)

The Head of Christ is a 1648 oil-on-panel painting by the Dutch artist Rembrandt. It is now in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin.

<i>Portrait of Jan Six</i>

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.

<i>Pendant portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit</i> Pair of paintings by Rembrandt

The pendant portraits of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit are a pair of full-length wedding portraits by Rembrandt. They were painted on the occasion of the marriage of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit in 1634. Formerly owned by the Rothschild family, they became jointly owned by the Louvre Museum and the Rijksmuseum in 2015 after both museums managed to contribute half of the purchase price of €160 million, a record for works by Rembrandt.

<i>St. Matthew and the Angel</i>

St. Matthew and the Angel is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch landscape painter Rembrandt. It is an example of Dutch Golden Age painting and is now in the collection of the Louvre.

<i>The Holy Family with Angels</i>

The Holy Family with Angels (1645) is an oil painting on canvas by the Dutch painter Rembrandt. It is an example of Dutch Golden Age painting and is now in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.

<i>The Kitchen Maid</i> (Rembrandt)

The Kitchen Maid (1651) is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch painter Rembrandt. It is an example of Dutch Golden Age painting and is now in the collection of the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden.

<i>The Man with the Golden Helmet</i>

The Man with the Golden Helmet is an oil on canvas painting formerly attributed to the Dutch painter Rembrandt and today considered to be a work by someone in his circle. The Man with the Golden Helmet is an example of Dutch Golden Age painting and is now in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucretia (Rembrandt, 1664)</span>

Lucretia is a 1664 history painting historically attributed to the Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. In 2015, Ernst van de Wetering of the Rembrandt Research Project said that "the formal properties and execution of [this] painting, I am convinced, exclude the possibility that it could be an autograph work by Rembrandt", and that the painting recalls Aert de Gelder. The painting is not included in the project's 2015 Rembrandt corpus.

<i>Portrait of a Man, probably a Member of the Van Beresteyn Family</i>

Portrait of a Man, probably a Member of the Van Beresteyn Family is an oil-on-canvas 1632 portrait painting by Rembrandt. It shows a man with a lace collar, which was a new fashion in the 1630s replacing older-styled millstone collars. It is pendant to Portrait of a Woman, probably a Member of the Van Beresteyn Family, and both are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

<i>Head of Christ</i> (Rembrandt, Philadelphia)

Head of Christ is a 17th-century painting by Rembrandt's workshop. It shows Christ with a beard and long dark hair. It is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

<i>Portrait of Gerard de Lairesse</i>

Portrait of Gerard de Lairesse is a 1665–1667 oil-on-canvas painting by Rembrandt. It shows the painter Gerard de Lairesse holding a paper. It is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

<i>Portrait of an Old Woman with Folded Hands</i>

Portrait of an Old Woman is a c. 1640 portrait painting painted in the style of Jacob Adriaensz. Backer. It shows an old woman with folded hands. It is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

<i>Oval Portrait of a Woman</i> (Rembrandt, New York)

Oval Portrait of a Woman is a 1633 portrait painting painted by Rembrandt. It shows a woman with a millstone collar and diadem cap. It is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

<i>Portrait of a Man</i> (Rembrandt, New York)

Portrait of a Man is a c. 1657 portrait painting painted by Rembrandt. It is an oil on canvas and is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

<i>Portrait of a Woman Wearing a Gold Chain</i>

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.

<i>Portrait of Petronella Buys</i>

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.

<i>Head of Christ</i> (Rembrandt, Louvre Abu Dhabi)

Head of Christ is a circa 1648 painting by Rembrandt or his workshop. It shows Christ with a beard and long dark hair. It is in the collection of the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

<i>The Standard Bearer</i> (Rembrandt, 1636) The Standard Bearer by Rembrandt

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."

References

  1. "Head of Christ". Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  2. 160. Head of Christ" in Hofstede de Groot, 1914 PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .