Lot Essay
The original, oil on canvas, 177.5 x 210 cm, executed in 1656, is in the Gemäldegalerie, Kassel. It was acquired by Landgraf Wilhelm VIII of Hessen circa 1750. In 1805 it was taken by the French to Paris, where it was shown in the Museé Napoleon until 1815 (see A. Bredius revised by H.Gerson, Rembrandt: the complete edition of the paintings, 1969, no.Br.525, p.434, with ill.).