Portrait of Jacob de Gheyn III

The portrait of Jacob de Gheyn III in the Dulwich Picture Gallery has acquired an unusual afterlife as the most frequently stolen painting in the world — taken and recovered four separate times between 1966 and 1983 — but its art-historical significance rests on the relationship it documents between Rembrandt and Amsterdam's highest cultural circles. De Gheyn's father, Jacob de Gheyn II, was one of the great print designers of the late sixteenth century; Constantijn Huygens, who introduced Rembrandt to the Amsterdam elite, was a close friend of both father and son. Commissioning Rembrandt for this small portrait panel in 1632 signals De Gheyn III's own entry into Amsterdam's patronage networks at the moment when Rembrandt was establishing his reputation. The small format — almost a miniature — and the meticulous finish demonstrate that Rembrandt's early Amsterdam work could satisfy collectors who wanted the precision of panel painting alongside the psychological depth that distinguished him from every local competitor. The Dulwich Picture Gallery, founded in 1811 as England's first purpose-built public gallery, holds the work in a collection assembled specifically to train British artists.

The broad white collar and dark costume are rendered with crisp precision, while the sitter's shrewd, somewhat amused expression is captured with Rembrandt's characteristic psychological insight.