Two unique portraits of Rembrandt discovered almost two centuries later by a British house specialist auctions when evaluating a private art collection.

The oval-shaped portraits, signed by Rembrandt van Rijn in 1635, show an elderly couple from Leiden, Holland. The relatively small works – 20.3 cm high and 16.5 cm wide – are among the smallest known Rembrandt portraits.

Rembrandt, one of the most famous painters of all time, was born in Leiden in 1606, the youngest of at least 10 children of a wealthy miller.

The portraits remained in the possession of the original owners until 1760, when they passed through various art collections in Warsaw and Paris before reaching Baron James Murray, who put them up for sale on June 18, 1824, with the simple note “Rembrandt – very lively.” and beautifully painted.

“Paintings were completely absent from Rembrandt literature in the 19th and 20th centuries,” said Henry Pettifer, an expert at auction house Christie’s. The original paintings were discovered in 1824 when they were sold to the ancestors of their current owners, who, according to Christie’s, were unaware that both were found to be authentic.

“The family liked the paintings, but they were never sure they were Rembrandts and never really studied them,” the appraiser said.

As soon as Pettifer discovered the portraits during the pandemic, Christie’s sent them for examination by Rembrandt specialists at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Source: Washington Post.