Pendant portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit: Difference between revisions
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==Provenance== |
==Provenance== |
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The portraits were in the possession of the subjects' heirs until their sale in 1877 to [[Gustave Samuel de Rothschild]], a French banker.<ref name=nyt/> The paintings were lent out for an exhibition only once, in the Rijkmuseum in 1956 on the occasion of the 350th birthday of Rembrandt.<ref>[https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/HA-0009456 Photo] of the exhibition showing this pair of paintings in 1956.</ref> Before being sold, they hung together in a large hall in the Van Loon collection, described by [[Eugène Fromentin]] in 1877 with the remark that they were examples of Rembrandt at his best and were painted in the same period that Rembrandt painted his ''[[Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp]]'', traditionally marking the start of his Amsterdam career. Clearly, the flamboyance of these young newlyweds did more to launch Rembrandt's career as a portrait painter for the Amsterdam upper class than his sober depiction of a class of serious students in Leiden.<ref>[http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/from002laat01_01/from002laat01_01_0015.php Commentary] by Fromentin in the [[Digital Library for Dutch Literature]]</ref> |
The portraits were in the possession of the subjects' heirs until their sale in 1877 to [[Gustave Samuel de Rothschild]], a French banker.<ref name=nyt/> The paintings were lent out for an exhibition only once, in the Rijkmuseum in 1956 on the occasion of the 350th birthday of Rembrandt.<ref>[https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/HA-0009456 Photo] of the exhibition showing this pair of paintings in 1956.</ref> Before being sold, they hung together in a large hall in the Van Loon collection, described by [[Eugène Fromentin]] in 1877 with the remark that they were examples of Rembrandt at his best and were painted in the same period that Rembrandt painted his ''[[Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp]]'', traditionally marking the start of his Amsterdam career. Clearly, the flamboyance of these young newlyweds did more to launch Rembrandt's career as a portrait painter for the Amsterdam upper class than his sober depiction of a class of serious students in Leiden.<ref>[http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/from002laat01_01/from002laat01_01_0015.php Commentary] by Fromentin in the [[Digital Library for Dutch Literature]]</ref> The entire Van Loon collection was sold to Rothschild for 40,000 pounds, which at the time was over a million francs.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/gri_33125007719145#page/n366/mode/1up Pendants discussed] in ''Rembrandt, his life, his work and his time'', by [[Emile Michel]], 1894; "The two fine full-length portraits of Martin Daey and his wife, bought in August, 1877, with the rest of the Van Loon collection, by the Rothschild family, were taken by the Baron Gustave de Rothschild at a valuation of more than a million of francs (£40,000).'"</ref> |
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Later, [[Wilhelm von Bode]] was impressed enough by these paintings to include both of them in his set of 595 [[photogravure]]s for his comprehensive eight-volume work on Rembrandt in 1898. Fromentin and Bode knew the paintings as the portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Daey, but it was the Amsterdam historian [[Isabella Henriette van Eeghen]] who painstakingly traced the ownership of these paintings back to their original inventories and discovered the true names of the sitters.<ref>[[Horst Gerson]], Rembrandt paintings, catalog numbers 164 & 165, 1968.</ref> |
Later, [[Wilhelm von Bode]] was impressed enough by these paintings to include both of them in his set of 595 [[photogravure]]s for his comprehensive eight-volume work on Rembrandt in 1898. Fromentin and Bode knew the paintings as the portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Daey, but it was the Amsterdam historian [[Isabella Henriette van Eeghen]] who painstakingly traced the ownership of these paintings back to their original inventories and discovered the true names of the sitters.<ref>[[Horst Gerson]], Rembrandt paintings, catalog numbers 164 & 165, 1968.</ref> |
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Revision as of 08:03, 16 October 2015
The Pendant portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit are a pair of full-length wedding portraits by Rembrandt. 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.[1]
History
The portraits were painted by Rembrandt upon the occasion of the wedding of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit in 1634.[1] Although the subjects were painted individually, the portraits have been kept together since their inception.[1] Unlike many 17th-century portrait pairs, these two have always hung side by side in various collections based in Amsterdam or Paris. They are also unusual in Rembrandt's oeuvre for their size and the fact that they show the subjects at full length. Appearing in period inventories at regular intervals since their creation, together they form part of Rembrandt's core oeuvre against which other paintings with a more questionable lineage are compared. The subjects Maerten Soolmans and his wife Oopjen Coppit are dressed as befits a pair of wealthy Amsterdam newlyweds.
Provenance
The portraits were in the possession of the subjects' heirs until their sale in 1877 to Gustave Samuel de Rothschild, a French banker.[2] The paintings were lent out for an exhibition only once, in the Rijkmuseum in 1956 on the occasion of the 350th birthday of Rembrandt.[3] Before being sold, they hung together in a large hall in the Van Loon collection, described by Eugène Fromentin in 1877 with the remark that they were examples of Rembrandt at his best and were painted in the same period that Rembrandt painted his Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, traditionally marking the start of his Amsterdam career. Clearly, the flamboyance of these young newlyweds did more to launch Rembrandt's career as a portrait painter for the Amsterdam upper class than his sober depiction of a class of serious students in Leiden.[4] The entire Van Loon collection was sold to Rothschild for 40,000 pounds, which at the time was over a million francs.[5]
Later, Wilhelm von Bode was impressed enough by these paintings to include both of them in his set of 595 photogravures for his comprehensive eight-volume work on Rembrandt in 1898. Fromentin and Bode knew the paintings as the portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Daey, but it was the Amsterdam historian Isabella Henriette van Eeghen who painstakingly traced the ownership of these paintings back to their original inventories and discovered the true names of the sitters.[6]
The current joint ownership is a new arrangement for the Louvre and Rijksmuseum, and it remains to be seen whether this experiment in international art purchasing will fit into exhibition plans of both institutions. Unlike many expensive paintings, these two will not be restricted by location and it is expected that they will be on tour regularly. According to Wim Pijbes, director of the Rijksmuseum, the paintings will not be separated, and each museum will own 50 percent of each painting.[1]
The previous record was for two Titians, his Diana and Callisto and Diana and Actaeon, that also hang side by side and are today jointly owned by the National Gallery and the National Galleries of Scotland.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Agence France-Presse (30 September 2015). "France and Netherlands to jointly buy rare Rembrandts". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ^ a b Siegel, Nina (21 September 2015). "Rembrandt Portraits May Come Home, for Record Price, With Government Help". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ^ Photo of the exhibition showing this pair of paintings in 1956.
- ^ Commentary by Fromentin in the Digital Library for Dutch Literature
- ^ Pendants discussed in Rembrandt, his life, his work and his time, by Emile Michel, 1894; "The two fine full-length portraits of Martin Daey and his wife, bought in August, 1877, with the rest of the Van Loon collection, by the Rothschild family, were taken by the Baron Gustave de Rothschild at a valuation of more than a million of francs (£40,000).'"
- ^ Horst Gerson, Rembrandt paintings, catalog numbers 164 & 165, 1968.