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Rembrandt—the mere mention of his art nowadays raises the issue of authenticity. As famous paintings have been withdrawn from the canon of his autograph work, journalists have played up the sensational news with stories of fakes or lost monetary value. The public, for which the very name Rembrandt has been synonymous with the word masterpiece, may well be perplexed about the processes by which the master's authorship can be established. The purpose of the present exhibition is to demystify the kind of research that goes on at a museum like the Metropolitan by demonstrating the different approaches that art historians and art conservators take in reaching their conclusions.
The Metropolitan Museum possesses one of the most significant groups of paintings, drawings, and etchings by the master, his pupils, and imitators—about eighteen paintings ascribed by common consent to Rembrandt, and about twenty-five that were once thought to be by him but are now recognized as works by pupils, followers, or, in a few cases, later imitators, as well as a large number of authentic drawings and etchings along with some problematic examples in these media. We have, therefore, limited the exhibition to the Museum's holdings. This has permitted us to focus more closely upon the works presented than would have been possible with loans from other museums.
Volume I:
Director's ForewordPhilippe de Montebello
Acknowledgments
Notes to the Reader
Illusion and Deception
Method of Examination: A Brief Historical Survey of Scientific Techniques
The Range of Rembrandt's Individual Style: Consistencies and Inconsistencies
On Condition
Rubens and Rembrandt: A Comparison of Their Techniques
Catalogue
Glossary by Charlotte HaleSelected BibliographyIndexPhotograph Credits
Volume II:
AcknowledgmentsWalter Liedtke
Paintings
Rembrandt and the Rembrandt Style in the Seventeenth CenturyWalter Liedtke
Catalogue Entries 1–55Walter Liedtke
Drawings
On the Attribution of Rembrandt's DrawingsCarolyn Logan
Catalogue Entries 56–85Carolyn Logan
Prints
Rembrandt's Prints and the Question of AttributionNadine M. Orenstein
Catalogue Entries 86–110Nadine M. Orenstein and Stephanie S. Dickey
Selected BibliographyIndexPhotograph Credits
Baetjer, Katharine. "Portrait Painting in England, 1600–1800." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) (Dutch, Leiden 1606–1669 Amsterdam)
Date: early 1660sAccession Number: 14.40.621
Date: 1632Accession Number: 29.100.4
Date: 1660Accession Number: 14.40.618
Follower of Rembrandt (Dutch, third quarter 17th century)
Date: probably ca. 1658–62Accession Number: 14.40.624
Date: 1633Accession Number: 32.100.23
Style of Rembrandt (Dutch, mid- to late 1640s)
Accession Number: 29.100.102
Accession Number: 29.100.103
Accession Number: 50.145.33
Date: 1653Accession Number: 61.198
