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Lot Essay
The fourth state of this modestly sized but quite imposing portrait is rare and earlier states are unobtainable:
Hinterding and Rutgers record only five impressions of the first three states in total.
The print shows the preacher Jan Uytenbogaert as if just looking up from his studies, with stacks of books on the desk in front and on a shelf behind him, suggestive of his learning. His intellectual prowess however is not his only virtue on display here. Rembrandt depicts him seated below an arch, with stately curtains on either side, and dressed in a fur-trimmed cloak and a wide lace ruff around his neck. It is an image that is meant to project not only erudition and knowledge, but also status and leadership.
Jan Uytenbogaert was a highly influential and distinguished figure in his day. Shown here at the age of 78, he was formerly the tutor of Frederik Hendrik of Orange and a minister at the court of the Stadtholder Prince Maurits. He became a spokesman for and later leader of the Remonstrants, and was an outspoken champion of religious tolerance. Such was the violence of the disagreement between his group and the counter-remonstrants that he had to flee the country in 1618 and was banished shortly thereafter. He returned in secret once the situation had calmed down in 1626, and moved back to The Hague in 1629. Rembrandt painted his portrait in 1633, and etched this likeness two years later. The painting was Uytenbogaert's first official portrait and was commissioned by one of his supporters. The print was clearly intended for distribution amongst the public and was presumably also a commission, either by the preacher himself or his followers.
Hinterding and Rutgers record only five impressions of the first three states in total.
The print shows the preacher Jan Uytenbogaert as if just looking up from his studies, with stacks of books on the desk in front and on a shelf behind him, suggestive of his learning. His intellectual prowess however is not his only virtue on display here. Rembrandt depicts him seated below an arch, with stately curtains on either side, and dressed in a fur-trimmed cloak and a wide lace ruff around his neck. It is an image that is meant to project not only erudition and knowledge, but also status and leadership.
Jan Uytenbogaert was a highly influential and distinguished figure in his day. Shown here at the age of 78, he was formerly the tutor of Frederik Hendrik of Orange and a minister at the court of the Stadtholder Prince Maurits. He became a spokesman for and later leader of the Remonstrants, and was an outspoken champion of religious tolerance. Such was the violence of the disagreement between his group and the counter-remonstrants that he had to flee the country in 1618 and was banished shortly thereafter. He returned in secret once the situation had calmed down in 1626, and moved back to The Hague in 1629. Rembrandt painted his portrait in 1633, and etched this likeness two years later. The painting was Uytenbogaert's first official portrait and was commissioned by one of his supporters. The print was clearly intended for distribution amongst the public and was presumably also a commission, either by the preacher himself or his followers.