Head of Christ (Rembrandt, Philadelphia)

Head of Christ is a 17th-century painting by Rembrandt's workshop. It shows Christ with a beard and long dark hair. It is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1]

Head of Christ
ArtistRembrandt 
Year1600s
Dimensions35.8 cm (14.1 in) × 31.2 cm (12.3 in)
LocationPhiladelphia Museum of Art
OwnerJohn G. Johnson 
Accession No.Cat. 480 
IdentifiersRKDimages ID: 232218

Description

Rembrandt created several similar heads in varying poses, possibly as devotional objects. Today about a dozen are known. This one came into the collection via the John G. Johnson bequest. This face of Christ relates very closely to depictions found in two prints by Rembrandt that portray Christ preaching to an attentive audience.[1]

This painting was documented by Hofstede de Groot in 1914, who wrote; "163. HEAD OF CHRIST. Wb. 324 ; B.-HdG. 412. Almost in full face. Long dark curls and a thin full beard. In a reddish-brown cloak. Half-length, about half life size. Painted about 1656-58. Oak panel, 13 inches by 11 1/2 inches. Mentioned by Vosmaer, p. 555 ; by Bode, p. 523 ; by Dutuit, p. 53. In the collection of Madame de Saulcy, Paris. In the collection of the Comte de la Bégassière, Paris. In the possession of the Paris dealer C. Sedelmeyer, "Catalogue of 100 Paintings," vii. No. 33. In the collection of John G. Johnson, Philadelphia, 1914 catalogue, No. 480."[2]

The painting was included in most Rembrandt catalogs of the 20th-century, only recently being rejected as autograph by the latest RRP catalog. It is, however, still connected with Rembrandt's workshop and is grouped together with all the other versions. In 2004, dendrochronological analysis determined that the source of the oak panel—both the original from the seventeenth century—and the main one came from the Baltic/Polish regions. The analysis yielded a probable creation date of 1628 or later.[3] It was included in the 2011 exhibition "Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus" held in the museums of Detroit (DIA), Philadelphia (PMA) and Paris (Louvre) April 21, 2011 – February 12, 2012, no. 40.

References
  1. "Head of Christ". Philadelphia Museum of Art.
  2. 163. Head of Christ" in Hofstede de Groot, 1914 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. DeWitt, Lloyd; Slive, Seymour (2011). Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art. ISBN 978-0-300-16957-7.
  • Rembrandt et la figure du Christ/Rembrandt and the face of Jesus, Musée du Louvre, Paris, 21 April 2011 – 18 July 2011, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, 3 August 2011 – 30 October 2011, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, 20 November 2011 – 12 February 2012, ISBN 978-88-89854-71-6, cat.no. 40.
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