Self-portrait of Rembrandt is authenticated

A self-portrait of Rembrandt has been verified following eight months of scientific analysis.

The 1635 painting, whose authenticity has been questioned for decades, depicts the Old Master looking out at the viewer while wearing a black cloak, a feathered bonnet and a metal band around his neck from a suit of armour.

Doubters included Rembrandt specialist Horst Gerson, who in 1968 said that areas of the painting were not accomplished enough to be the work of the famous Dutch painter.

He said the portrait was likely to have been painted by one of Rembrandt’s pupils.

The National Trust, which owns the painting, was prompted to send the painting away for scientific analysis after another specialist, Professor Ernst van de Wetering, said he believed that the half-length portrait was genuine.

Experts at the Hamilton Kerr Institute (HKI) in Cambridgeshire have now removed several layers of aged and yellowed varnish and analysed the artist’s signature.

Painting conservator Christine Slottvedd Kimbriel said: “What was revealed was a true depth of colour, much more detail and a three-dimensional appearance to the fabric in Rembrandt’s cloak.”

But she added: “It was close investigation of the artist’s signature that gave us one of the biggest clues as to its true authenticity.

“The signature and date of 1635 had been considered problematic in previous assessments as it was thought that the style and composition was much more akin to the artist’s style slightly later in his career.

“But the cross-section analysis left no reason to doubt that the inscription was added at the time of execution of the painting.”

The portrait is dated 1635, when Rembrandt, who is considered to be one of the greatest painters in European art history, was 29 years old.

He was living in Amsterdam at the time.

Rembrandt is thought to have depicted himself in at least 40 paintings but the National Trust painting, thought to be worth £30 million and featuring the artist in “fanciful costume”, shows him continuing to feature role play in his portraiture and experimenting with painting different surfaces.