A New Rembrandt? A Dutch Art Dealer Says He’s Found One

The Dutch art dealer Jan Six says that “Portrait of a Young Gentleman” is by Rembrandt, and several high-profile experts agree.CreditRené van Gerritsen/Jan Six Fine Arts

By Nina Siegal

May 16, 2018

AMSTERDAM — The Dutch art dealer Jan Six is a direct descendant of a 17th-century burgher who sat for one of Rembrandt’s most important paintings, “Portrait of Jan Six.” It has remained in his family’s possession for 11 generations. Naturally, he grew up to become an old masters specialist.

Mr. Six now says that he has discovered a new Rembrandt, a portrait of an unidentified young man that he purchased at a Christie’s auction in London in 2016 for 137,000 pounds, or about $185,000. If he is right, “Portrait of a Young Gentleman” would be the first wholly unknown Rembrandt painting to be attributed in 44 years — and worth many millions more.

Mr. Six placing the portrait into a frame during a news conference on May 16. He has published a book detailing evidence for his attribution of the picture to Rembrandt.CreditFrançois Lenoir/Reuters

He made the announcement in the Dutch national newspaper NRC Handelsblad on Tuesday, as he published a book, “Rembrandt’s Portrait of a Young Gentleman,” which details evidence he has assembled to support the attribution.

The painting has been endorsed as genuine by Ernst van de Wetering, the world’s leading Rembrandt authority, who wrote a six-volume encyclopedic register of the artist’s works, “The Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings.” With this attribution, Mr. van de Wetering places the “Portrait of a Young Gentleman” as Rembrandt painting No. 342.

“I’m absolutely convinced,” said Mr. van de Wetering in a telephone interview, adding that the painting was “no doubt an authentic Rembrandt and an interesting contribution to Rembrandt’s oeuvre.”

Norbert Middelkoop, curator of paintings, prints and drawings