‘Fake’ Rembrandt self-portrait worth €19m
The Young Rembrandt as Democrates the Laughing Philosopher, came to up for auction last year, but was only attributed to “a follower” of the Dutch master.
Auctioneers Moore Allen and Innocent had consulted with the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam — one of the leading authorities on the artist — and were told it was not genuine.
To be safe, the house made sure the world’s richest dealers knew that the 24cm by 16cm portrait was coming up for sale, and invited them to draw their own conclusions.
Convinced of its authenticity, two bidders did battle in the auction room in Cirencester last summer, with the hammer falling at £2.2 million (€2.8m).
Eight months later the painting has been verified by the world’s leading Rembrandt scholar and could be worth many millions more.
Ernst van de Wetering, head of the Rembrandt Research Project, has declared the work genuine following an exhaustive examination of the painting, Moore Allen said yesterday.
He found that unique characteristics of the signature, the size of the copper plate and certain stylistic choices in the painting technique indicated Rembrandt painted it around 1628, at the age of 22.
Auctioner Philip Allwood — who dropped the gavel last autumn — said he had taken all sensible steps to ensure that his client had received the right price for the painting.
He said: “We were told by the Rijksmuseum that it wasn’t a Rembrandt, and previously the painting had been examined by one of the major London auction houses on two occasions — and rejected by them — prior to our client consigning the painting to us.
“However, we made sure the art world knew what was coming to auction, ” he said. “Those art dealers took a real gamble, but they had a chance to examine the painting and were convinced of its authenticity.
“Their gamble paid off, but they might have discovered, after eight months of examination and testing, that they had overpaid for a £1,000 follower of Rembrandt — that’s the risk.
“What our anonymous buyer paid was probably right for the market.”
In January 2007 Sotheby’s New York sold Saint James the Greater for $25.8m, a verified Rembrandt.
Mr Allwood said that since the sale of the Rembrandt, he had been asked to look at dozens of suspected classics — including Rembrandts, Van Goghs and Picassos.
