''Head of Christ'' is a 1650s painting by

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

's workshop. It shows Christ with a beard and long dark hair. It is in the collection of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

Description

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 Isaac D. Fletcher bequest. This painting was documented by

Hofstede de Groot Cornelis Hofstede de Groot (9 November 1863 – 14 April 1930), was a Dutch art collector, art historian and museum curator. Life He was born in Dwingeloo and spent some time in Switzerland in his youth due to weak lungs, where he learned Germa ...

in 1914, who wrote; "160. HEAD OF CHRIST. Bode 295; Dut. 78; Wb. 301; B.-HdG. 414. Long dark curls, a short full beard, and dark eyes. Turned to the right. In a brownish-red coat, showing at top the hem of the shirt. Strong light falls from the left on the upper part of the right side of the face. Dark background. Life size. Painted about 1659. Canvas, 18 1/2 inches by 14 1/2 inches. Mentioned by Bode, pp. 522, 597; by Dutuit, p. 51; by

Michel Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...

, p. 563 35 Exhibited at Amsterdam, 1898, No. 109; in Paris, 1911, No. 125. Sale. J. Wandelaar, Amsterdam, September 4, 1759, No. 13 (5 florins 10, J. Enschede). In the possession of the Paris dealer C. Sedelmeyer, "Catalogue of 300 Paintings," No. 149. In the collection of

Maurice Kann Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and L ...

, Paris. In the possession of the Paris dealer F. Kleinberger. In the collection of Isaac D. Fletcher, New York."160. Head of Christ
in Hofstede de Groot, 1914 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. 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. 46. File:Christ, by circle of Rembrandt van Rijn.jpg, Bredius File:Rembrandt Oil Study of Christ.jpg, Louvre Abu Dhabi File:Rembrandt - Head of Christ - DIA.jpg, DIA File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 048.jpg,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Dutch (active Leiden and Amsterdam) - Head of Christ - Google Art Project.jpg, PMA File:Rembrandt - Christ with Hands Folded 1971.37.jpg, Hyde collection File:Rembrandt - Head of Christ - Fogg Museum.jpg, Fogg File:Rembrandt - Head of Christ - BYU.jpg, Brigham Young University

References

Cat. no. 172
in ''Dutch Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art'' Volume I, by

Walter Liedtke Walter Arthur Liedtke, Jr. (August 28, 1945 – February 3, 2015) was an American art historian, writer and Curator of Dutch and Flemish Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He was known as one of the world's leading scholars of Dutch an ...

, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007

External links

''Christus, jaren 1650''
in the RKD
''Head of Christ''
in the Rembrandt Research Project
Rembrandt's ''Heads of Christ''
on Louvre website {{DEFAULTSORT:Head of Christ Paintings by Rembrandt 1650s paintings Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art