LEIDEN, Jan 18 — Rembrandt’s earliest works, painted when the Dutch grasp was solely 18 years outdated, will quickly be on show collectively for the primary time in his hometown of Leiden.
Leiden’s De Lakenhal museum, considered solely a stone’s throw from the place Rembrandt’s studio would have been, introduced the gathering of 4 paintings to media at the moment.
Tantalisingly, a fifth Rembrandt within the sequence — “the allegory of style” — has by no means been discovered.
“It’s very mysterious. We are fairly certain that Rembrandt truly made 5 paintings on this sequence as a result of there are 5 senses and never 4,” museum curator Janneke van Asperen instructed eNM.
“We don’t have any clue about the place it may be. Perhaps it’s nonetheless there, somebody has it mendacity within the attic. Or maybe it’s gone. We hope in fact we’ll discover it,” she added.
An individual seems to be at portray through the preview of the exhibition ‘Rembrandt’s 4 senses — his first paintings’ within the De Lakenhal museum in Leiden January 18, 2024. The museum is celebrating its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary and is presenting 4 paintings by Rembrandt that he made when he lived in Leiden as an 18-year-old. — Remko de Waal/ANP/eNM pic
The works present that even at a younger age, Rembrandt was ready to interrupt with conference, in accordance with the museum. At the time, the senses had been typically portrayed by elegant feminine figures.
“The expertise that we see in these works is already very distinctive,” mentioned Van Asperen.
The early works present indicators of what would turn into Rembrandt’s signature qualities, resembling broad brushstrokes and the usage of chiaroscuro, an oil method involving robust contrasts between darkish and light-weight to create three-dimensional figures with dramatic impact.
“Of course, he’ll turn into a grasp of it and we’re seeing the start of that right here,” mentioned the curator.
“We sit up for introducing each Dutch and worldwide guests to the very first works to have emerged from his hand and the expertise already exhibited by the artist at such a younger age,” mentioned museum director Tanja Elstgeest.
