Forgotten for Years, This ‘Fake’ Rembrandt Could Unlock a Multi-Million Dollar Secret.
“Rembrandt attributions have been very volatile over the years,” Mehalakes said.
She added that as many as 600 paintings were attributed to Rembrandt at a time and as few as 200 at another. A group of scholars eventually formed a special initiative known as The Rembrandt Research Project in 1968. It has since been dedicated to evaluating authentic works by the Dutch painter.
But the authenticity of many alleged Rembrandt works are still being debated today, including The Auctioneer, which now hangs in New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
As complicated as the histories of some artworks may be, discoveries like the newly authenticated Rembrandt never fail to excite art aficionados.
“This single object in our collection has this incredibly rich and complicated history and for all we know there could be stories like that among other artworks,” Mehalakes said. “It’s very exciting.”
Wikimedia CommonsRembrandt was highly successful and tutored many pupils at his studio.
Portrait of a Young Woman was donated to the museum by the Kress Foundation, an organization that has focused on the priceless Renaissance art collection amassed by department store magnate Samuel Kress.
The foundation has donated valuable artworks to museums across the United States and continues to oversee the conservation of these donated pieces free of charge to the institutes that own them. Its conservation lab is located at New York University.
The authenticated Rembrandt painting will remain under the custody of the Allentown Art Museum. The artwork has yet to be appraised — and it appears the museum has no intention to sell it — but Rembrandt pieces have sold for up to $33 million in the past.
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