The most expensive 'Circle of' ever?

May 9 2012

Picture: Christie's

Here's a curious picture from Christie's forthcoming Old Master sale in New York; a small oil on panel described as 'Circle of Rembrandt' with the enormous estimate of $150,000-$250,000. The picture is being deaccessioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Perhaps accounting for its high price is the fact that it was long thought to be by Rembrandt, but now isn't. And yet, if it isn't by him, or by anyone identifiable in his immediate circle, it surely isn't worth what the estimate suggests. Adding to the picture's uncertainty is a statement in the catalogue that the date of the wood panel (derived by dendrochronology) does not accord with the fashion of the sitter.  

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