Rembrandt van Rijn

Two African Men

685 voorzijde
685 detail signatuur en datering
685 achterzijde
685 ingelijst
685 voorzijde
685 voorzijde

Rembrandt van Rijn
Two African Men

On view in Room 10

In the Dutch seventeenth century Africans were usually depicted as secondary figures: for example as enslaved individuals of figures in a Bible scene. But here Rembrandt has made them the main subject – presumably these were free men who lived in Amsterdam.

Rembrandt painted the men in very thin layers of paint. Although he depicted their faces, like the white shawl, in great detail, many other parts are only sketchily painted. The painting looks like an unfinished study, but the artist signed it: Rembrandt f 1661 – made by Rembrandt in 1661.

Technical details

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685 voorzijde

Rembrandt van Rijn
Two African Men

On view in Room 10

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Details

General information
Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 - 1669 Amsterdam)
Two African Men
painting
685
Room 10
Material and technical details
oil
canvas
77.8 x 64.4 cm
Inscriptions
upper right: Rembrandt / f 1661

Provenance

De Montribloud Collection, Paris, 1784; Lord Berwick, Attingham Hall, Shrewsbury, 1784; Wertheimer Gallery, London; George Donaldson Gallery, London, 1902; Abraham Bredius, The Hague, 1903-1946 (on long-term loan to the Mauritshuis since 1903); bequest of Abraham Bredius, 1946