Head of Christ

Rembrandt painted this subject a number of times; three examples, one described as "Een Christus tonie nae't leven" ("a head of Christ done from life," that is, from a model probably found in the Jewish quarter of Amsterdam), were cited in the 1656 inventory of the artist's possessions. Of the dozen bust-length portraits of Christ known today, only the small panel in Berlin is universally accepted, but several others are obviously the work of pupils. The present picture, which is sensitive both in conception and execution, is most likely by one of Rembrandt's followers. The issue, as so often... Mehr ...