Head of a Young Man
Govaert Flinck·c. 1635-1655
Historical Context
This Head of a Young Man, attributed to the Rembrandt workshop and possibly by Govaert Flinck, dates to around 1635-1655. The attribution question reflects the complex nature of Rembrandt's large Amsterdam workshop, where talented students like Flinck closely imitated the master's style. Flinck, who trained with Rembrandt in the mid-1630s, became one of Amsterdam's most successful painters, eventually receiving commissions that Rembrandt himself had sought.
Technical Analysis
The oil on panel shows the warm, brown tonality and dramatic chiaroscuro characteristic of Rembrandt's workshop. The freely painted hair and the sensitively modeled face emerging from shadow demonstrate the Rembrandtesque technique taught to his students.
Provenance
(Thomas Lawrie & Co., Glasgow and London);[1] William Allan Coats [1853–1926], Skelmorlie Castle, Ayrshire, and Dalskairth House, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, by 1904;[2] John Levy Galleries, Inc., New York. Mrs. Benjamin Franklin Jones, Jr., née Sue Duff Dalzell [1866–1941], Sewickley Heights, PA, by 1931;[3] (her sale, Parke-Bernet, New York, 4 December 1941, no. 25, as by Rembrandt); purchased by David Schnur [1882-1948], New York; his wife Else Schnur [1884-1966]; (consigned to sale, Parke-Bernet, New York, 12 January 1955, no. 29, as by Rembrandt);[4] (purchased by Anthony N. Bode, acting as agent).[5] Private collection, Switzerland. (Sale, Sotheby’s, Amsterdam, 13 November 2007, no. 52, as by Flinck; purchased by Miriam [1937–2024] and Eliezer H. Benbassat [1934–2022], Washington, DC; The Miriam Benbassat Trust, Washington, DC; gift 2025 to NGA. [1] According to Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, _Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten holländischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts_, Vol. 6, Esslingen and Paris, 1915, no. 736A. [2] The painting is plate 32 in _Catalogue of the Collection of Pictures of the French, Dutch, British, and Other Schools Belonging to W.A. Coats_, Glasgow: 1904. Coats was a director of the world’s largest cotton-thread manufacturers, J & P Coats, of Paisley, Scotland. [3] The owner is listed as Mrs. B. F. Jones, Jr., in Wilhelm R. Valentiner, _Rembrandt Paintings in America_, New York: 1931, pl. 25. The Joneses purchased frequently from the John Levy Galleries, as indicated by the provenances of many works in their collection in the 1941 Parke-Bernet sale, making it likely this painting also came directly from that source. [4] The 2007 Sotheby’s catalogue gives the name as David Schur, but annotated photocopies of the 1941 and 1955 auction catalogues, received from the donor estate (NGA curatorial files) indicate David Schnur as the purchaser in the 1941 sale and Mrs. Schnurr (sic) as the consigner to the 1955 sale. This is almost certainly the German tobacco executive David Schnur, who immigrated to New York in 1939. In the 1955 Parke-Bernet sale, his widow, Else, also sold lot 28. [5] Although the 2007 Sotheby’s catalogue indicates the work was purchased by A. Bode, acting as agent, this was probably Anthony N. Bade, vice-president of Parke-Bernet.
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