REMBRANDT Harmenszoon van Rijn
(b. 1606, Leiden, d. 1669, Amsterdam)

Portrait of Eleazer Swalmius

1637
Oil on canvas, 132 x 109 cm
Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp

Catalogue number: Bredius 213.

Despite the fact that it bears Rembrandt's signature and a date (upper right: Rembrandt 1637), the well-known portrait of Eleazer Swalmius is probably not by the master himself, to whom it has traditionally been attributed, but from his Amsterdam studio. The portrayal is sober, simple and life-size; the colouring is muted, and the use of light serves to emphasise the face and hands of the sitter.