A Young Man Seated at a Table (possibly Govaert Flinck)
Rembrandt van Rijn·c. 1660
Historical Context
Rembrandt's Young Man Seated at a Table (c. 1660) at the National Gallery of Art, possibly depicting his pupil Govaert Flinck, is a late work showing a young figure absorbed in thought or study at a table covered with books or papers. The subject of the young scholar — seated, thinking, surrounded by the instruments of intellectual work — was one Rembrandt had explored throughout his career in various forms. The specific identification as Flinck would make this a portrait of the pupil who became one of his most commercially successful followers, and the quiet contemplative quality of the image would give it the additional meaning of an artistic meditation on the relationship between master and student.
Technical Analysis
The painting shows Rembrandt's mature, broad handling with the figure emerging from a warm, dark background. The tabletop and the sitter's hands are painted with thick, confident strokes, while the face is modeled with subtle, penetrating light.
Provenance
Possibly acquired between 1768 and 1772 by Gustaf Adolf Sparre [1746-1794], Sahlgren-Sparre Palace, Göteborg, and, after 1775, Kulla Gunnarstorp Castle, near Helsingborg, Sweden; by inheritance to his wife, Elisabet Sofia Amalia Beata Sparre [née Ramel, 1753-1830], Kulla Gunnarstorp Castle; by inheritance to her grandson, Gustaf Adolf Frederik De la Gardie [1800-1833], Kulla Gunnarstorp Castle; by inheritance to his father, Jacob Gustaf De la Gardie [1768-1842], Kulla Gunnarstorp Castle; sold a few years after 1837 [when De Geer had purchased Kulla Gunnarstorp Castle] with the entire Sparre collection to Carl De Geer of Leustra [1781-1861]; placed 1855 into a family trust under care of his granddaughter, Elizabeth Wachtmeister [née von Platen, 1834-1918], Castle Wanås, near Kristianstad, Sweden;[1] sold 1926 by the Wachtmeister Trust to (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris); sold December 1926 to Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington; deeded 28 December 1934 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1937 to NGA. [1] This possible provenance and the preceding chain of ownership are outlined in Ben P. J. Broos et al., _Great Dutch Paintings from America_, The Hague and Zwolle, 1990: 387, 390. For information about the Sparre collection, see Ingmar Hasselgren, Konstsamlaren Gustaf Adolf Sparre, 1746-1794: hans studieresa, va°ning och konstsamling i Go¨teborg. Ph.D. diss., University of Göteborg, 1974. The painting was first published in 1884, when it was “discovered” in the Wachtmeister collection by Olof Granberg; see his article: "Drei unbekannte Gemälde von Rembrandt," _Zeitschrift für Bildende Kunst_ 19 (1884): 30-32.
