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Attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn
Dutch, 1606–1669
Man Reading
c. 1648
For centuries, this painting was thought to portray an individual, but recent research suggests it may be a tronie—a type of image in which seventeenth-century Dutch artists explored facial expressions and costumes. The richly textured surface and the contrast of warm light and soft shadows are typical of paintings by Rembrandt and his students, who learned the master’s techniques by copying his work. For a time, the work was considered a product of the artist’s followers, but has recently been attributed to Rembrandt himself.
Image Caption
Attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn, Man Reading, c. 1648, oil on canvas. Clark Art Institute, 1955.841
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
29 3/16 x 22 1/8 in. (74.1 x 56.2 cm)
Frame: 38 7/8 x 32 1/4 x 3 9/16 in. (98.7 x 81.9 x 9 cm)
Object Number
1955.841
Acquisition
Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955
Status
On View
Select Bibliography
Smith, John. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish, and French Painters. Volume 7. London: Smith and Son, 1836. Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century, based on the work of John Smith. Catalogue raisonné. 8 vols. London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd, 1907–27. Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century, based on the work of John Smith. Catalogue raisonné. 8 vols. London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd, 1907–27. Martin, Wilhelm. Alt-hollandische Bilder. Bibliothek für Kunst- und Antiquitätensammler, Bd. 13. Berlin: R. C. Schmidt, 1918. Bredius, Abraham. "An Unknown Masterpiece by Rembrandt." The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 36, no. 206 (May 1920): 208–9. Bredius, Abraham. "Trois Tableaux de Rembrandt Peu Connus." Gazette des Beaux-Arts no. 715 (April 1921): 213–22. Valentiner, Wilhelm Reinhold. Rembrandt, wiedergefundene Gemalde (1910–1920). Stuttgart and Berlin: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1921. Bredius, Abraham. 'Wiedergefundene „Rembrandts‟' Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst neue folge, neue folge XXXII (1921): 146–152. Martin, Wilhelm. Alt-hollandische Bilder. Bibliothek für Kunst- und Antiquitätensammler, Bd. 13. Berlin: R. C. Schmidt, 1921. Fraenger, Hillhelm. Die Radierungen des Hercules Seghers. Erlenbach-Zuerich: E. Rentsch, 1922. M. Knoedler & Co. Dutch Masters of the Seventeenth Century. Exhibition catalogue. New York: M. Knoedler & Co., 1925. Valentiner, Wilhelm Reinhold. Rembrandt Paintings in America. New York: S. W. Frankel, 1931. Anonymous. "In a Rembrandt Exhibition." Town and Country (15 April 1933). M. Knoedler & Co. Loan Exhibition of Paintings by Rembrandt. Exhibition catalogue. New York: M. Knoedler & Co., 1933. Martin, W. De Hollandische Schilderkunst in de zeventiende eeuw: Rembrandt en zijn tijd onze 17e eeuwsche schilderkunst in harem bloeitijd en nabbloei, Vol. 2. Amsterdam: J.M. Meulenhoff and Uitgever, 1936. Goldscheider, Ludwig. Fünfhundert Selbstporträts von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. Vienna: Phaidon-Verlag, 1936. Bredius, Abraham. The Paintings of Rembrandt. Vienna: Phaidon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, [1937]. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Exhibit Twelve: Dutch and Flemish Masters. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1960. "Clark Dsiplays Four Rembrandts in New Exhibit." The Williamstown News, June 16 1960.
Gilbert, Creighton. “The Classics.” Arts Magazine (Feb. 1961).
Kurt Bauch.. Rembrandt Gemalde.. Berlin: W. De Gruyter.. 1966 [c. 1965].. Van Regteren Altena, J.Q. "Neues über Jan Vermeijen." Oud-Holland LXXXII, no. 1/2 (1967): 68–71.Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Paintings on Exhibition, July 1968. Williamstown: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1968.
Hamann, Richard. Rembrandt. Berlin: Safari-Verlag, 1969. Bredius, Abraham. Rembrandt: The Complete Edition of the Paintings. 3rd Edition. Revised by H. Gerson. London: Phaidon Press, 1969. Judson, Jay richard, Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann, and Anne-Marie Logan. Rembrandt after Three Hundred Years. Exhibition catalogue. Forward by C. C. Cunningham. Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1969. Bredius, Abraham. Rembrandt, The Complete Edition of the Paintings. 3rd ed. Revised by H. Gerson. London: Phaidon, 1969. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1970. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1972.Bolten, J., and H. Bolten-Rempt. Rembrandt. Milano: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1976.
Brown, Christopher. Carel Fabritius: Complete Edition with a Catalogue Raisonné. Oxford: Phaidon Press, 1981.Foucart, Jacques. Les peintures de Rembrandt au Louvre. Paris: Éditions de la Réunion de musées nationaux, 1982.
Sumowski, Werner. Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler. Vol. IV. Landau/Pfalz: Edition PVA, 1983. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1984. Sutton, Peter C. A Guide to Dutch Art in America. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. and The Netherlands-America Amity Trust, 1986. Fernandez, Rafael. In the Manner of Rembrandt. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1988. Kern, Steven, ed. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1992. Held, Julius S. "Old Masters in the Clark Collection, Part I: Paintings." The Magazine Antiques 62, no. 4 (October 1997): 504–9. Keyes, George S., Tom Rassieur, and Dennis P. Weller. Rembrandt in America: Collecting and Connoisseurship. New York: Skira Rizzoli and The North Carolina Museum of Art, 2011.