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A Girl with a Broom
Rembrandt Workshop (Possibly Carel Fabritius)·probably begun 1646/1648 and completed 1651
Historical Context
This painting of A Girl with a Broom, begun in Rembrandt's workshop around 1646-48 and possibly completed by Carel Fabritius in 1651, blurs the boundaries between master and pupil that characterized Rembrandt's busy studio. Fabritius, the most talented of Rembrandt's pupils before his death in the Delft gunpowder explosion of 1654, may have worked on this painting during his period in the master's studio.
Technical Analysis
The oil on canvas shows the influence of Rembrandt's warm palette and atmospheric treatment, with broad, confident brushwork in the figure and background that suggests a talented hand working within the master's stylistic framework.
Provenance
Almost certainly Herman Becker [c. 1617-1678], Amsterdam.[1] Pierre Crozat [1665-1740], Paris, before 1740; by inheritance to his nephews, first to Louis-François Crozat, marquis du Châtel [1691-1750], Paris, and then [on Louis-François' death without a male heir] to Louis-Antoine Crozat, baron de Thiers [1699-1770], Paris; the latter's heirs; purchased 1772, through Denis Diderot [1713-1784] as an intermediary, by Catherine II, empress of Russia [1729-1796], for the Imperial Hermitage Gallery, Saint Petersburg; sold February 1931, as a painting by Rembrandt, through (Matthiesen Gallery, Berlin; P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London; and M. Knoedler & Co., New York) to Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; deeded 1 May 1937 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1937 to NGA. [1] For Becker's collection, see Hugo J. Postma, "De Amsterdamse verzamelaar Herman Becker (c. 1617-1678) Nieuwe gegevens over een geldschieter van Rembrandt," _Oud-Holland_ 102 (1988): 1-21. The painting appears in the 1678 inventory (fol. 285r as "Een vrouwtje aende put van Rembrandt van Rijn").
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