A Polish Nobleman

1637

Rembrandt van Rijn

Artist, Dutch, 1606 - 1669

Shown from about the waist up, a light-skinned man with sagging jowls and a double chin wears a fur garment and hat, a large teardrop pearl earring, and gold chains in this vertical painting. In front of a cracked gray stone wall, the man's body is angled to our right but he turns his face to look at us with brown eyes under a furrowed brow. He has a bulbous nose, and his lips are slightly parted under a wide, wispy mustache. His brown hair is mostly hidden under the tall dark brown fur hat, which is wrapped with a gold chain with a gold medallion at the front. The chestnut-brown fur coat looks especially fuzzy along the neckline, which is also encircled with a thick gold chain. A gold, crown-shaped pendant with a black brush hangs over his right shoulder, closer to us. He holds a gold-tipped cane with his right hand, his thumb extended along the cane. The artist signed and dated the work in the upper right corner, "Rembrandt f: 1637."

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After learning the fundamentals of drawing and painting in his native Leiden, Rembrandt van Rijn went to Amsterdam in 1624 to study for six months with Pieter Lastman (1583–1633), a famous history painter. Upon completion of his training Rembrandt returned to Leiden. Around 1632 he moved to Amsterdam, quickly establishing himself as the town’s leading artist. He received many commissions for portraits and attracted a number of students who came to learn his method of painting.

A Polish Nobleman is probably not a portrait of a specific individual; instead it represents a more generic exotic type that Rembrandt favored during the 1630s. The beaver hat, dark fur cloak, and massive gold chain and medallion have suggested to many that the sitter was Slavic, but the painting's title has no factual basis. Such exotic paintings allowed Rembrandt to expand the limits of portraiture because he was not constrained by traditional conventions. Through dramatic accents of light and dark on the sitter's face, bold brushwork, and dense application of paint, Rembrandt created a powerful, almost sculptural presence. By emphasizing the man’s furrowed brow and by shading his eyes, Rembrandt has portrayed him as a thoughtful individual. The penetrating expression of A Polish Nobleman and the striking resemblance of the sitter’s features to Rembrandt’s, particularly in the area around the eyes and nose, make one wonder if this painting is not, in fact, a fanciful and liberally embellished self-portrait.

On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 48


Artwork overview

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Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Possibly Harman van Swol; possibly (his sale, Jan Pietersz. Zomer, Amsterdam, 20 April 1707, no. 15).[1] Acquired 1765 in Rotterdam by (Philippus Florentinus Vergeloo, Antwerp) for Count Johan Carl Philipp Cobenzl [1712-1770]; sold 1768 to Catherine II, empress of Russia [1729-1796], Saint Petersburg;[2] Imperial Hermitage Gallery, Saint Petersburg; sold February 1931 through (Matthiesen Gallery, Berlin; P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London; and M. Knoedler & Co., New York) to Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington; deeded 30 March 1932 to The A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1937 to NGA.
[1] In the 1707 sale in Amsterdam, a painting described as "Een Ambassadeur van Moscovien, van Rembrandt kragtig geschildert" (An Ambassador of Moscow, powerfully depicted by Rembrandt) may have been this work; the association of this painting with A Polish Nobleman was first made in Stichting Foundation Rembrandt Research Project, A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings, vol. 3, 1635–1642, ed. Josua Bruyn et al., Dordrecht, Boston, and London, 1989: 247.
[2] On the identification of Cobenzl as the collector who sold the painting to Catherine II, and of Vergeloo as his source, see Catherine Phillips, "The Provenance of Rembrandt's 'Polish Nobleman' (1637) in the National Gallery of Art, Washington," The Burlington Magazine 151 (February 2009): 84-85. When A Polish Nobleman was first described in the catalogue of Catherine II's collection, compiled between 1773 and 1785, it bore the title "Portrait d'un Turc."

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1969

  • Rembrandt in the National Gallery of Art [Commemorating the Tercentenary of the Artist's Death], National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1969, no. 3, 13, repro.

Bibliography

1773

  • Imperial Hermitage Museum [probably Ernst von Münnich, ed.] "Catalogue raisonné des tableaux qui se trouvent dans les Galeries, Sallons et Cabinets du Palais Impérial de S. Pétersbourg, commencé en 1773 et continué jusqu’en 1785.” 3 vols. Manuscript, Fund 1, Opis’ VI-A, delo 85, Hermitage Archives, Saint Petersburg,1773-1783 (vols. 1-2), 1785 (vol. 3).

1774

  • Imperial Hermitage Museum [probably Ernst von Münnich, ed.]. Catalogue des tableaux qui se trouvent dans les Cabinets du Palais Impérial à Saint-Pétersbourg. Based on the 1773 manuscript catalogue. Saint Petersburg, 1774: no. 44, as Portrait d'un Turc..

1829

  • Smith, John. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters. 9 vols. London, 1829-1842: 7(1836):113, no. 310.

1838

  • Imperial Hermitage Museum. Livret de la Galérie Impériale de l'Ermitage de Saint Petersbourg. Saint Petersburg, 1838: 125, no. 23.

1859

  • Blanc, Charles. L’Oeuvre Complet de Rembrandt. 2 vols. Paris, 1859–1861: 2: 404.

1863

  • Köhne, Baron Bernhard de. Ermitage Impérial, Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. Saint Petersburg, 1863: 172, no. 811.

1864

  • Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Die Gemäldesammlung in der kaiserlichen Ermitage zu St. Petersburg nebst Bemerkungen über andere dortige Kunstsammlungen. Munich, 1864: 182, no. 811.

1868

  • Vosmaer, Carel. Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn, sa vie et ses œuvres. The Hague, 1868: 449.

1870

  • Köhne, Baron Bernhard de. Ermitage Impérial: Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 3 vols. 2nd ed. Saint Petersburg, 1870: 2:137, no. 811.

1873

  • Blanc, Charles. L’Oeuvre de Rembrandt. 2 vols. Paris, 1873: 2:404.

1877

  • Vosmaer, Carel. Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn: sa vie et ses oeuvres. 2nd ed. The Hague, 1877: 515, 576.

1879

  • Ris, Comte Louis Clement de. "Musée Impérial de l’Ermitage à Saint-Pétersbourg (last of 4 articles)." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 20 (November 1879): 379-380, repro. 381.

1883

  • Bode, Wilhelm von. Studien zur Geschichte der holländischen Malerei. Braunschweig, 1883: 464-465, 601, no. 335.

1885

  • Dutuit, Eugène. Tableaux et dessins de Rembrandt: catalogue historique et descriptif; supplément à l'Oeuvre complet de Rembrandt. Paris, 1885: 38, 64, 67, no. 387.

1886

  • Wurzbach, Alfred von. Rembrandtgalerie. Stuttgart, 1886: 87, no. 402, repro.

1890

  • Imperial Hermitage Museum. Album de l'Ermitage Imperial; reproductions photographiques publiées avec l'autorisation de l'Empereur par Charles Röttger. 6 pts. in 2 vols. Saint Petersburg, 1890s: 2:89, repro.

1893

  • Michel, Émile. Rembrandt: Sa vie, son oeuvre et son temps. Paris, 1893: 215-216, repro.

1894

  • Michel, Émile. Rembrandt: His Life, His Work, and His Time. 2 vols. Translated by Florence Simmonds. New York, 1894: 1:216-217, repro.; 2:246.

1895

  • Somov, Andrei Ivanovich. Ermitage Impérial: Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 2 vols. 3rd ed. Saint Petersburg, 1895: 2:285, no. 811, repro.

1897

  • Bode, Wilhelm von, and Cornelis Hofstede de Groot. The Complete Work of Rembrandt. 8 vols. Translated by Florence Simmonds. Paris, 1897-1906: 3:36-37, 200, no. 228, repro.

1899

  • Knackfuss, Hermann. Rembrandt. Künstler-Monographien. Bielefeld and Leipzig, 1899: 18, repro. no. 15.

  • Bell, Malcolm. Rembrandt van Rijn and His Work. London, 1899: 70, repro., 179.

1901

  • Somov, Andrei Ivanovich. Ermitage Impérial: Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 2 vols. 4th ed. Saint Petersburg, 1901: 2:321, no. 811.

1902

  • Neumann, Carl. Rembrandt. Berlin, 1902: repro. 93.

1904

  • Rosenberg, Adolf. Rembrandt: des Meisters Gemälde. Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben 2. Stuttgart, 1904: 102, 269, repro.

1906

  • Michel, Émile. Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn: A Memorial of His Tercentenary. New York, 1906: 46, repro.

  • Schmidt-Degener, Frederik. "Rembrandt Imitateur de Claus Sluter et de Jean van Eyck." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 36 (1906): 89-108.

  • Rosenberg, Adolf. Rembrandt, des Meisters Gemälde. Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben 2. 2nd ed. Stuttgart, 1906: repro. 166, 427.

  • Wurzbach, Alfred von. Niederlandisches Kunstler-Lexikon. 3 vols. Vienna, 1906-1911: 2(1910):409.

1907

  • Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century. 8 vols. Translated by Edward G. Hawke. London, 1907-1927: 6(1916):165, no. 271.

  • Brown, Gerard Baldwin. Rembrandt: A Study of His Life and Work. London, 1907: 254-255, 302.

  • Bell, Malcolm. Rembrandt van Rijn. The great masters in painting and sculpture. London, 1907: 65, repro. opp. 66, 150.

  • Rosenberg, Adolf. The Work of Rembrandt, reproduced in over five hundred illustrations. Classics in Art 2. New York, 1907: 166, repro.

1908

  • Rosenberg, Adolf. Rembrandt, des Meisters Gemälde. Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben 2. 3rd ed. Stuttgart and Berlin, 1908: repro. 216, 556.

1909

  • Wrangell, Baron Nicolas. Les Chefs-d’Oeuvre de la Galérie de Tableaux de l’Ermitage Impérial à St. Pétersbourg. London, 1909: xxix, 111, repro.

  • Rosenberg, Adolf. Rembrandt: Des Meisters Gemälde. Edited by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben 2. Stuttgart and Leipzig, 1909: repro. 102, 269.

1911

  • Bode, Wilhelm von, and Fritz Knapp. Meisterwerke der Malerei: Alte Meister. Berlin, 1911: unpaginated, repro.

1912

  • Réau, Louis. "La galerie de tableaux de l'Ermitage et la collection Semenov. 2: Ecoles de Nord." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 8 (December 1912): 478, repro.

1913

  • Rosenberg, Adolf. The Work of Rembrandt, reproduced in over five hundred illustrations. Classics in Art 2. 2nd ed. New York, 1913: repro. 216.

1921

  • Rosenberg, Adolf. The Work of Rembrandt. Edited by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Classics in Art 2. 3rd ed. New York, 1921: 216, repro.

1922

  • Neumann, Carl. Rembrandt. 2 vols. Revised ed. Munich, 1922: 2:414-415, repro.

1923

  • Weiner, Peter Paul von. Meisterwerke der Gemäldesammlung in der Eremitage zu Petrograd. Revised ed. Munich, 1923: repro.

  • Meldrum, David S. Rembrandt’s Painting, with an Essay on His Life and Work. New York, 1923: 190, pl. 119.

1924

  • Knackfuss, Hermann. Rembrandt. Künstler-Monographien. Leipzig, 1924: 62, pl. 60.

1926

  • Hymans, Henri. L'Art dans les Pays-Bas, son evolution, son influence. Brussels, 1926: no. 47, repro.

1935

  • Bredius, Abraham. Rembrandt Schilderijen, 630 Afbeeldingen. Utrecht, 1935: no. no. 211, repro.

  • Bredius, Abraham. Rembrandt Gemälde, 630 Abbildungen. Vienna, 1935: no. 211, repro.

1936

  • Bredius, Abraham. The Paintings of Rembrandt. New York, 1936: no. 211, repro.

1937

  • Frankfurter, Alfred M. "The Mellon Gift to the Nation." Art News 35 (9 January 1937): repro.

  • Cortissoz, Royal. An Introduction to the Mellon Collection. Boston, 1937: 38-39.

  • Frankfurter, Alfred M. "The Mellon Gift to the Nation." _Art News _ 35 (9 January 1937): 9.

1941

  • Held, Julius S. "Masters of Northern Europe, 1430-1660, in the National Gallery." Art News 40, no. 8 (June 1941): 13, repro.

  • "World Masterpieces Lend Supreme Distinction to National Gallery of Art." The Washington Star (16 March 1941): F6.

  • National Gallery of Art. Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. Washington, 1941: 166, no. 78, pl. IX.

1942

  • National Gallery of Art. Book of illustrations. 2nd ed. Washington, 1942: 78, repro. 31, 240.

  • Bredius, Abraham. The Paintings of Rembrandt. 2 vols. Translated by John Byam Shaw. Oxford, 1942: 1:12, no. 211, repro.

1943

  • Benesch, Otto. "The Rembrandt Paintings in the National Gallery of Art." The Art Quarterly 6, no. 1 (Winter 1943): 20 fig. 1, 25.

1948

  • Rosenberg, Jakob. Rembrandt. 2 vols. Cambridge, MA, 1948: 1:43, fig. 59.

1949

  • National Gallery of Art. Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection. Washington, 1949 (reprinted 1953 and 1958): 80, repro.

1952

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds., Great Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1952: 96, color repro.

1960

  • Bauch, Kurt. Der frühe Rembrandt und seine Zeit: Studien zur geschichtlichten Bedeutung seines Frühstils. Berlin, 1960: 168-169, fig. 147.

1961

  • Descargues, Pierre. The Hermitage Museum, Leningrad. New York, 1961: 32-33, repro.

1963

  • Odlozilik, Otaker. "Rembrandt’s Polish Nobleman." Polish Review 7 (Autumn 1963): 3-32, repro.

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 312, repro.

1964

  • Rosenberg, Jakob. Rembrandt: Life and Work. Revised ed. Greenwich, Connecticut, 1964: 70-71, fig. 59.

1965

  • National Gallery of Art. Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. Washington, 1965: 109.

1966

  • Bauch, Kurt. Rembrandt Gemälde. Berlin, 1966: 10, no. 174, repro.

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 1: 220, color repro.

1968

  • Gerson, Horst. Rembrandt Paintings. Amsterdam, 1968: 56, 495, 298, repro.

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 96, repro.

1969

  • Bredius, Abraham. Rembrandt: The Complete Edition of the Paintings. Revised by Horst Gerson. 3rd ed. London, 1969: repro. 170, 565, no. 211.

  • National Gallery of Art. Rembrandt in the National Gallery of Art: Commemorating the tercentenary of the artist's death. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1969: 7, 13, no. 3, repro.

1970

  • Benesch, Otto. Otto Benesch Collected Writings. 2 vols. Edited by Eva Benesch. London and New York, 1970: 1:140-146, fig. 108.

1974

  • Broos, Ben P. J. "Rembrandt’s Portrait of a Pole and His Horse." Simiolus 7, no. 4 (1974): 192-218, fig. 19.

1975

  • National Gallery of Art. European paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. Washington, 1975: 286, repro.

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 273, no. 359, color repro.

1977

  • Bolten, J., and H. Bolten-Rempt. The Hidden Rembrandt. Translated by Danielle Adkinson. Milan and Chicago, 1977: 186, no. 264, repro.

1981

  • Chroscicki, Juliusz. A. "Rembrandt’s Polish Rider: Allegory or Portrait?" in Ars Auro Prior: Studia Ioanni Bialostocki Sexagenario Dicta. Warsaw, 1981: 441-448.

1984

  • Schwartz, Gary. Rembrandt: Zijn leven, zijn schilderijen. Maarssen, 1984: 200, no. 219, color repro.

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 273, no. 353, color repro.

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Dutch Painting in the National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C., 1984: 12, color repro.

1985

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. Washington, 1985: 330, repro.

  • Schwartz, Gary. Rembrandt: His Life, His Paintings. New York, 1985: 200, no. 219, repro.

1986

  • Hermesdorf, P. F. J. M., Ernst van de Wetering, and Jeroen Giltaij. "Enkele nieuwe gegevens over Rembrandts ‘De Eendracht van het Land'." Oud Holland 100 (1986): 38-39, 48.

  • Sutton, Peter C. A Guide to Dutch Art in America. Washington and Grand Rapids, 1986: 312.

  • Tümpel, Christian. Rembrandt. Translated by Jacques and Jean Duvernet, Léon Karlson, and Patrick Grilli. Paris, 1986: repro. 197, 406, no. 137.

  • Guillaud, Jacqueline, and Maurice Guillaud. Rembrandt: das Bild des Menschen. Translated by Renate Renner. Stuttgart, 1986: 311, no. 366, color repro.

  • Guillaud, Jacqueline, and Maurice Guillaud. Rembrandt, the human form and spirit. Translated by Suzanne Boorsch et al. New York, 1986: no. 366, repro.

1988

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. "The Art Historian in the Laboratory: Examinations into the History, Preservation, and Techniques of 17th Century Dutch Painting." In The Age of Rembrandt : studies in seventeenth-century Dutch painting. Papers in art history from the Pennsylvania State University 3. Edited by Roland E. Fleischer and Susan Scott Munshower. University Park, PA, 1988: 221; 245, fig. 9-28.

1989

  • Stichting Foundation Rembrandt Research Project. A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings. Vol. 3: 1635-1642. Edited by Josua Bruyn, et al. Dordrecht, Boston, and London, 1989: 242-247, repros.

1990

  • Schneider, Cynthia P. Rembrandt’s Landscapes: Drawings and Prints. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Boston, 1990: 68-69, 95, 154, 171, 233 n. 80, fig. 54.

  • Le Bihan, Olivier. L'Or & l'Ombre: catalogue critique et raisonné des peintures hollandaises du dix-septième et du dix-huitième siècles, conservées au Musée des beaux-arts de Bordeaux. Bordeaux, 1990: 362, no. C13.

1991

  • Le Bihan, Olivier. L'or & l'ombre. Bordeaux, 1991: 362.

  • Grimm, Claus. Rembrandt selbst: Eine Neubewertung seiner Porträtkunst. Stuttgart, 1991: 95, pl. 51 (color detail), 97, fig. 179.

  • Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 91, 93, color repro.

1992

  • National Gallery of Art. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1992: 124, repro.

1995

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1995: 222-226, color repro. 223.

1997

  • Fleischer, Roland E., and Susan C. Scott, eds. Rembrandt, Rubens, and the art of their time: recent perspectives. Papers in art history from the Pennsylvania State University 11. University Park, PA, 1997: no. 1-12, repro.

2000

  • Il'in, Nikolas, and Natalia Semënova. Prodannye sokrovishcha Rossii [Sold Treasures of Russia]. Moscow, 2000: 168-169, color repro.

  • Wright, Christopher. Rembrandt. Collection Les Phares 10. Translated by Paul Alexandre. Paris, 2000: 252, fig. 250.

2004

  • Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 202, no. 160, color repro.

2005

  • Stichting Foundation Rembrandt Research Project. A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings. Vol. 4: The Self-Portraits. Edited by Ernst van de Wetering. Dordrecht, 2005: 238, 242, 619, 622-626, 624 (fig. 13), detail repro. 641.

2006

  • Lammertse, Friso, and Jaap van der Veen. Uylenburgh & Son: art and commerce from Rembrandt to De Lairesse, 1625-1675. Exh. cat. Dulwich Picture Gallery; Museum Het Rembrandthuis, Amsterdam. Zwolle, 2006: 199, fig. 143.

  • Pellegrino, Francesca. Geografia e viaggi immaginari. Milan, 2006: 83, repro.

2008

  • Hirschfelder, Dagmar. Tronie und Porträt in der niederländischen Malerei des 17. Jahrhunderts. Berlin, 2008: 124, pl. 91, no. 430, repro.

2009

  • Phillips, Catherine. "The provenance of Rembrandt's 'Polish nobleman' (1637) in the National Gallery of Art, Washington." The Burlington Magazine 151 (February 2009): 84-85, repro.

  • Odom, Anne, and Wendy R. Salmond, eds. Treasures into Tractors: The Selling of Russia's Cultural Heritage, 1918-1938. Washington, D.C., 2009: 90, 104 n. 47, 135 n. 62.

2011

  • Fiedler, Susanne, and Torsten Knuth. "Vexierbilder einer Biographie: Dr. Heinz Mansfeld (1899-1959)." Mecklenburgische Jahrbücher 126 (2011):307.

2012

  • Percival, Melissa. Fragonard and the Fantasy Figure: Painting the Imagination. Burlington, Vt., 2012: x, 60, 61, fig. 2.10

2013

  • Semyonova, Natalya, and Nicolas V. Iljine, eds. Selling Russia's Treasures: The Soviet Trade in Nationalized Art 1917-1938. New York and London, 2013: 138, 194, repro.

2016

  • Wecker, Menachem. "Famed Arts Patron Catherine the Great had Many Lovers, But She was a Prude." Washington Post 139, no. 120 (April 3, 2016): E2, repro.

  • Jaques, Susan. The Empress of Art: Catherine the Great and the Transformation of Russia. New York, 2016: 397.

2020

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Clouds, ice, and Bounty: The Lee and Juliet Folger Collection of Seventeenth-Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2020: 18, fig. 2, 19.

Inscriptions

upper right: Rembrandt.f:. / 1637

Wikidata ID

Q9351747


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