Rijksmuseum identifies new Rembrandt painting

Rijksmuseum researchers have identified a painting as the work of Rembrandt van Rijn. Analysis of the wood panel, style, changes made to the details while the work was being painted, the signature applied while the painting was still wet and the overall high quality confirm that it was an autograph work by Rembrandt himself, painted when he was 27 years old and had just moved to Amsterdam.

Vision of Zacharias in the Temple (1633) is a moody depiction of the account in the Gospel of Luke of the high priest Zachariah learning his “barren” elderly wife Elizabeth will bear a son, the future John the Baptist. The announcing angel, Gabriel, is not visible in the painting. He is represented only as a glow of light in the upper right corner of the panel, a novel approach at a time when angels were usually depicted as humans with wings. Zachariah is captured in the midst of performing his temple duties — reading scripture in front of a smoking censer of burning incense  — caught very much unawares by this announcement. His expression conveys his surprise and incredulity, an attitude that plays a large role in the rest of the story as Gabriel strikes him dumb for his disbelief and he remains mute through the conception and nine months of pregnancy, only regaining the ability to speak after he writes that he agrees with Elizabeth that their newborn son should be named John.

A label on the back of the panel from 1898 notes that it was exhibited in September and October of that year as an authentic Rembrandt. Decades later in 1960, Rembrandt specialists rejected the attribution and the work fell into obscurity. It was bought by a private collector in 1961 and no scholars were permitted to study it until two years ago when the current owner contacted the Rijksmuseum.

For the first time in 65 years, Vision of Zacharias in the Temple was given a rigorous examination, this time with modern imaging technology and, most importantly, with a vastly greater depth of knowledge about Rembrandt’s techniques and materials thanks to Operation Night Watch, the museum’s ambitious research and conservation project for the

This two-year study has revealed that all the paints used for the Vision of Zacharias in the Temple are found in other Rembrandt van Rijn works from the same period. The painting technique and the build-up of paint layers are also comparable to other early works by Rembrandt. Macro-XRF scans and visual inspection additionally revealed compositional changes that support the authenticity of the work. Research into the signature shows that it is original, and dendrochronological analysis of the wooden panel confirms that the date of 1633 on the painting is correct.

The painting is now on long-term loan to the Rijksmuseum and will go on public display on March 4th.

* This article was originally published here