Rembrandts Revealed
On the 400th anniversary of the birth of Rembrandt, Poland confirms that it has two more paintings in collections here by the Dutch master than the world thought it had.
All arts-conscious visitors to Poland are convinced that there is only one Rembrandt in Polish museums – the 'Landscape with a Good Samaritan' in the Czartoryski collection in the city of Krakow.
This is no longer true. As the world celebrates the 400th anniversary of the birth of the great painter, two of his canvases have been unveiled in Warsaw.
In the mid 1990s the Royal Castle in Warsaw received a priceless collection of art whose beginnings can be traced to the last Polish King, Stanislaw August Poniatowski. It includes two canvasses by Rembrandt: 'A Girl in the Hat' and 'A Scholar in his Study', both dating from 1641. Polish art historians, even though convinced right from the start that these were authentic Rembrandt paintings, still wanted to get the opinion of the top Rembrandt expert, Professor van den Wetering from the Rembrandt Research Project in Amsterdam.
This has been forthcoming, adding a pair of Rembrandt jewels to Poland's crown.