Portrait of a Young Woman by Rembrandt van Rijn, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, photo Google Art Project (public domain)
It is not an easy feat to eyeball an original Rembrandt. (Recommended reading: Troysart “And then to Rembrandt’s House” September 18, 2014.) Oil paintings by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669) are so rare that only the best museums count one amongst the permanent collection.
For decades (since 1977) the only Rembrandt painting that I know of on public display in Texas was housed at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. “Bust of a Young Jew” 1663, oil on canvas, is considered a character study rather than a portrait commissioned by an individual. The artist captures the sitter in a more relaxed and painterly manner with dramatic facial illumination.
A little more than a decade ago the Museum of Fine Arts Houston acquired “Portrait of a Young Woman” 1633, oil on canvas. She is housed in the voluminous new Audrey Jones Beck Building as the centerpiece of the Golden Age of Dutch Art collection. Painted on an oval format, the illusion and detail of her lace collar is astonishing. MFAH’s website describes the work best, “This exquisite painting exemplifies the qualities that made Rembrandt the leading portrait painter of his generation and, ultimately, one of the greatest painters of all time. It demonstrates his exceptional ability to capture an animated, memorable likeness that seems to breathe beneath the surface.”
She isn’t the most physically attractive woman ever immortalized in oil but she sure looks rich and important! Rembrandt did a number on her to be sure. And she wasn’t cheap either. The MFAH has never disclosed her purchase price; the list of donors for her acquisition reads like a who’s who of the wealthiest families in Texas. I heard that when she came to market in Europe her price exceeded $20 million; a museum insider confided years back that the negotiated purchase price exceeded $15 million.
I remember going to the MFAH once she was unveiled, specifically to see her. And she did not disappoint—she’s breathtaking. Undoubtedly a portrait masterpiece of this quality is a colossal feather in the cap for the MFAH.
But wait, Rembrandt fun at the MFAH does not end with her. On loan from a private (undisclosed) collection is another Rembrandt. Also painted on oval format and framed identically to Portrait of a Young Woman, Portrait of a Man in Red Doubler, 1633, is exhibited as if a pair.
I’ve seen both of the aforementioned works. Other paintings are represented by museums across the USA such as the Getty (LA), the Met (NY), the Art Institute (Chicago), Harvard, Detroit, Cleveland, but in the Deep South I cannot think of any others.
Christ on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt van Rijn, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Wikimedia Commons
But one important place where you will not find a Rembrandt is the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. In the wee hours of the morning almost 15 years ago a pair of thieves disguised as Boston policemen gained access to the museum. With the guards tied up they roamed the galleries cherry-picking from the world renowned collection. As the bandits entered the Dutch Room an alarm sounded which they smashed. The pulled Rembrandt’s “Self-portrait” 1629 off the wall but they could not release it from the frame; then they cut “The Storm on the Sea of Galilee” 1638 out of its frame. The art thieves also stole masterpieces by Vermeer, Manet, and Degas among others.
The value of the stolen pieces is $500 million—it’s the largest property theft ever! Empty frames now hang in the Dutch Room in homage to the missing paintings. Yes, the paintings are still missing. And the museum has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the recovery of the stolen art.
Just think, if you can solve the Gardner robbery and get the $5 million reward, you could put a down payment on a Rembrandt of your own!
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum