Man in Oriental Dress

Rembrandt van Rijn, 1635

Rembrandt manipulated light in a highly personal way. Here, the man’s turban and the right side of his face are brilliantly illuminated, while the left side is in shadow. Character heads like this – they are not portraits – were extremely popular in the 17th century; early on, they were widely copied and imitated. They were known as ‘Turkish tronies’.

Artwork typepainting
Object numberSK-A-3340
Dimensionsheight 72 cm x width 54.5 cm
Physical characteristicsoil on panel

Stories

Man in Oriental Clothing

1:05 min. - Not a portrait, but a tronie

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copy after Rembrandt van Rijn, 1730 - 1774

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Identification

Title(s)
- An oriental (former title)
- Bust of a Man in Oriental Dress
- Man in Oriental Dress
Object type
Object number
SK-A-3340
Description
Borstbeeld van een man in oosterse kleding, naar rechts. Op het hoofd een tulband met een gouden ketting waaraan een grote parel.
Inscriptions / marks
signature and date: ‘Rembrandt f 1635’

Creation

Creation
painter: Rembrandt van Rijn
Dating
1635
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Material and technique

Physical description
oil on panel
Dimensions
height 72 cm x width 54.5 cm

This work is about

Subject

Acquisition and rights

Credit line
Gift of Mr and Mrs Kessler-Hülsmann, Kapelle op den Bosch
Acquisition
gift 1940-03
Copyright
Public domain
Provenance
…; collection Ketelaar, Amsterdam [probably Huijbert Ketelaar (1711-73)];{Inscription, mezzotint, Pieter Louw (1725-1800); illustrated in Leiden 2006, p. 51.} …; first recorded in the collection of the Vane family, Raby Castle, Darlington, 1857;{F.M.L. 1857, p. 5.} by descent to Christopher William Vane (1888-1964), 1st Baron Barnard, Raby Castle, Darlington; his sale, London (J. & B. Kemp), 30 March 1922, no. 48, 6,200 gns to the dealer De Bruin for Dominicus Antonius Josephus Kessler (1855-1939) and Mrs A.C.M.H. Kessler-Hülsmann (1868-1947), Kapelle op den Bosch, near Mechelen;{Copy RKD.} donated, with 83 other objects, by Mrs A.C.M.H. Kessler-Hülsmann to the museum, 1940

Documentation

The Rembrandt Database, Object information, attributed totoegeschreven aanRembrandt, or studio ofof atelier vanRembrandt, Bust of a man in oriental dress, dated 1635, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv. no. SK-A-3340, http://www.rembrandtdatabase.org/Rembrandt/painting/36699/bust-of-a-man-in-oriental-dress, accessed 2016 February 01

Related objects

Persistent URL

To refer to this object, please use the following persistent URL:
https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200107930