Lot 1154 Dα

This portrait of a boy with a monkey was long considered to be a self portrait by the young Rembrandt, and it was engraved under this assumption by Johann Nothnagel in 1772. An old label to the reverse of the panel also reads "Rembrandt von 1640". This date is probable considering the style of the sitter's clothing, but it does not coincide with Rembrandt's age, as he is known to have been 34 years old at this time. Willem van de Watering considers the monkey to be an 18th century addition, possibly inspired by a passage from Arnold Houbraken's 'De Groote Schoubugh', in which Rembrandt is said to have owned a pet monkey. According to Houbraken, he was so fond of this pet that upon its death he was so upset that he included it in a family portrait he had been commissioned to paint. Upon seeing this inclusion, the commissioner of the portrait apparently refused to accept the painting, but Rembrandt was not perturbed by this and instead kept the unfinished portrait with the depiction of his beloved monkey. This anecdote is one of Houbraken's many biographical reports of Rembrandt's eccentricity and salesmanship. Thus, the later addition of the monkey was intended to prove his authorship.
This painting's passage through the hands of a series of illustrious collectors in the 18th century can be reconstructed from the labels to the reverse. It was first kept in the collection of Madame Gallatin, the Genevan patron of Voltaire, and later in the poet's own collection, before it found its way into the ownership of Senator Ehrenreich in Frankfurt.

We would like to thank Willem van de Watering for his research on the significance and provenance of this work.