Self-portrait, wearing a White Feathered Bonnet

Rembrandt van Rijn (Leyden 1606 – Amsterdam 1669) (and studio?). Oil painting on poplar panel, Self-portrait, wearing a White Feathered Bonnet, by Rembrandt van Rijn (Leyden 1606 – Amsterdam 1669) (and studio?), signed and dated, at the lower right background: Rembrant / f (followed by three dots in a triangular pattern) 1635. A half-length portrait of the artist with a white feathered bonnet, cloak and gorget. Acquired as a genuine Rembrandt by Prince Joseph-Wenzel von Liechtenstein (1696-1772) and considered as such by Rembrandt scholars, until Horst Gerson reattributed it to Govaert Flinck in 1968. Since then its authenticity has been in doubt. However, its high quality and the fact that it does not reproduce any other know self-portrait by Rembrandt suggest that is is a prototype. Furthermore, recent X-rays and infra-red refectology show that the artist has changed the position of his left arm, which would not be consistent with it being a copy. At least three copies of it are known: in Wiesbaden, in the Galleria Nazionale, Rome and formerly in the Cook collection, Doughty House, Richmond. The unusually mechanical execution of the feathers on the bonnet suggests that they may have been painted by an assistant. Buckland Abbey, Devon (Accredited Museum)