The book, written by expert Gary Schwartz, aims to persuade academics that “Rembrandt in a Red Beret,” currently on display in The Hague, is a self-portrait rather than a creation by a student.
Rembrandt van Rijn’s artwork from the Dutch Golden Age, which had been lost from its native nation for more than 50 years, has finally been returned. However, who painted Rembrandt with a Red Beret is still a mystery.
At the Escher in Het Paleis in The Hague, a drawing by Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher was displayed last month. The talk was planned to coincide with the release of a new book that explores the intriguing background of the artwork.
Gary Schwartz, an art historian and authority on Rembrandt, wrote the book and is confident that the painting is an autographed self-portrait.
“For more than 200 years, professionals in art have recognized this artwork as a Rembrandt. It is a famous Rembrandt picture that stands out from the rest of his canvases. I fail to understand why anyone would question the veracity of this painting,” says Gary Schwartz.
A man with a red beard is depicted in the painting, which is roughly 100 years old. According to rumors, it was painted by Vincent van Gogh. Initially held by a Dutch king, it was later loaned to a German museum by a grand duke. A newspaper at the time reported that the robbers had taken a “world-famous self-portrait of the Dutch artist,” a piece from his greatest period that was created one year after the well-known “Night Watch” in Amsterdam.
After witnessing the picture Weng had gifted to the Art Institute, a Washington D.C investigator decided it should be turned over to the government. It was kept at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., for 20 years. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson determined it was time for the United States to hand over the works of art taken during the conflict. The administration returned the Rembrandt portrait to West Germany in 1967. This picture was eventually purchased by Wilhelm Ernst’s successor, who sent it back to the country in 1983.
Some claim that Ferdinand Bol, a student of Rembrandt, or the artist’s studio produced this painting since Abraham Bredius updated his catalog raisonné of the artist’s oeuvre in 1969. However, we can’t say for sure.
For the first time in 55 years, the piece is being displayed in public, according to Schwartz, because its terrible state makes it difficult for professionals to assess it appropriately. He explained. “When you view it for the first time, it gives the false impression since there is so much missing and it has been painted over.”