The Preacher Eleazar Swalmius
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''The Preacher Eleazar Swalmius'' is a 1637 oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch artist
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 ...
. It is currently owned by the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
. The painting has been certified a real Rembrandt. The painting was listed in 1727 in the catalog of the
Duke of Orléans Duke of Orléans (french: Duc d'Orléans) was a French royal title usually granted by the King of France to one of his close relatives (usually a younger brother or son), or otherwise inherited through the male line. First created in 1344 by King ...
collection, as a portrait of an Amsterdam mayor by Rembrandt. It remained in the noble family's possession until 1792, when Duke Louis-Philippe-Joseph sold the entire collection to finance his political career and pay off debts. The painting passed through several English collections into the hands of the Bourgeois brothers, art dealers from
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
, who sold the painting as an original Rembrandt to the museum in 1886. The painting was stored away for a long time due to doubts cast over its authenticity. In the late 2000s, after works of restoration were conducted on the painting, scholars recognized it as an original Rembrandt.


Subject matter

The painting has long been thought to be a portrait of an Amsterdam mayor. It was listed thusly in the collection of the
Duke of Orléans Duke of Orléans (french: Duc d'Orléans) was a French royal title usually granted by the King of France to one of his close relatives (usually a younger brother or son), or otherwise inherited through the male line. First created in 1344 by King ...
at the Palais Royal of Paris in 1727. However, the painting depicts the preacher
Eleazar Swalmius Eleazar Swalmius or Eleasar Swalmius (1582 – June 4, 1652) was a Dutch theologian known today for his portrait by Rembrandt. Swalmius was born in Rhoon as the son of Hendrick van de Swalme, or Henricus Swalmius, who was probably born in Flanders ...
, who was born in
Rhoon 200px, Castle Rhoon 200px, frameless Rhoon is a village that borders the municipality of the city of Rotterdam, South Holland, the Netherlands. According to its history it was established in 1199 and was ruled by the ''lords of Duiveland''. ...
, but operated in Amsterdam. Rembrandt painted this portrait in 1637, when the pastor was about 55 years old.Jan Lea Broeckx in ''Musea van België. Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten te Antwerpen. Oude meesters'', 1959, nr. 44 en in 1969 nr. 54. Swalmius was born in Rhoon to Hendrick van de Swalme, or ''Henricus Swalmius''. Hendrick van de Swalme's family was probably originally from Flanders. His father spent time in England before becoming a preacher in the late 16th century. Like his father, Eleazar became a preacher too ( Counter-Remostrant). Swalmius was active as a pastor in Poortugaal and Hoogvliet near Rotterdam since 1605 and in Schiedam between 1612 and 1622. In 1622 he settled in Amsterdam, where he would live up to his death, and be buried in the Oude Kerk in 1652. The Van der Swalme family must have known Rembrandt well. Carel, a brother of Eleazer and "dike count" ( dijkgraaf) of Oranjepolder, for example, witnessed the drawing up of the will of Rembrandt van Rijn and Saskia van Uylenburgh.


Composition

In the dim brown background, with only a few, barely visible books on a table, the preacher seems to take up an imposing but nonostentatious volume. Rembrandt depicted the Amsterdam preacher almost life-size, in an extremely sober way. He sits relaxed on a low wooden armchair. He was painted three-quarter view. Swalmius doesn't look at the viewer penetratingly. The character's appearance gives the painting a relaxed ambience of confidentiality. His eyes are kind, his nose rubicund. Rather than showing his
wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, ...
, his long white beard enhances the friendliness of his appearance, especially to the modern viewer. There was probably a relationship between the painter and the sitter. As mentioned, Rembrandt knew his client and his family personally.


Provenance

In the eighteenth century, the canvas was located in the Palais Royal in Paris, where the art collection of the
Duke of Orléans Duke of Orléans (french: Duc d'Orléans) was a French royal title usually granted by the King of France to one of his close relatives (usually a younger brother or son), or otherwise inherited through the male line. First created in 1344 by King ...
, brother of
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...
, was kept. The painting was recorded in 1727 in the catalog of this collection and described as a portrait of a mayor by Rembrandt. The painting remained in the family's possession until 1792, when Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans sold the entire art collection to finance his political career and to pay off his debts. The painting passed through various English collections into the hands of the Bourgeois art dealers, who sold the work to Antwerp Royal Museum of Fine Arts in 1886, for 200 000 francs. The painting was acquired by the museum as an original Rembrandt.


Details

The painting is signed ''Rembrandt. f 1637'' in the recto's top right corner. The ''f'' stands for ''fecit''.Smith, ''Catal. Raisonné'', VII, nr. 274, bl. 102. As early as 1969, Gerson wrote that the signature did not seem original. Because the painting also seemed "too tame" (tame, not expressive enough) to him, he attributed the work to Rembrandt's pupil
Govert Flinck Govert (or Govaert) Teuniszoon Flinck (25 January 16152 February 1660) was a Dutch painter of the Dutch Golden Age. Life Born at Kleve, capital of the Duchy of Cleves, which was occupied at the time by the United Provinces, he was apprenticed by ...
. Curator Jeroen Giltaij wrote that indeed little of Rembrandt's strength was visible in the painting, and that the beard was rather sketchy. However, Giltaij could not say whether it was Flinck who made the work. Upon restoration, the thick yellow layer of varnish turned out to be the main culprit. This layer prevented spectators from appreciating the nuances in the preacher's pink skin tones and black clothes. After the restoration, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp invited Rembrandt expert
Ernst van de Wetering Ernst van de Wetering (9 March 1938 – 11 August 2021) was a Dutch art historian and an expert on Rembrandt and his work. Background Ernst van de Wetering was born in Hengelo. He was first trained as an artist at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts ...
to study and assess the painting. He was of the opinion that, contrary to what Gerson originally claimed, the painting is a real Rembrandt. This is the accepted conclusion at the moment. Due to doubts over its authenticity, the work was in storage for a long time. After confirmation by Van de Wetering, the KMSKA decided that the work was to be given a permanent spot in the museum's collection upon the reopening of the former.Jeroen Giltaij, Lezing en notities over de schilderijen van Rembrandt en school in het Museum voor Schone Kunsten van Antwerpen, 2006.


See also

*
List of paintings by Rembrandt The following is a list of paintings by Rembrandt that are accepted as autograph by the Rembrandt Research Project. For other catalogues raisonnés of Rembrandt, see the "Rembrandt" navigation box below. See also *List of etchings by Rembrandt * ...


Notes


General references

* * Ackley, Clifford S. ''Rembrandt's Journey: Painter•Draftsman•Etcher''. Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, 2003. * A. Bredius, Rembrandt: The Complete Edition of the Paintings, revised by H. Gerson, Londen, 1969, cat. nr. 213. * J. Bruyn, B. Haak, SH Levie, PJJ van Thiel, E. van de Wetering, A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings, III, Dordrecht, 1989, p. 689. * Ernst van de Wetering, A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings VI. Rembrandt's Paintings Revisited, A complete survey, Dordrecht, 2015, cat nr. 156, p. 560. * AJJ Delen, in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts - Antwerp. Descriptive Catalog. I. Old Masters, 1948, p. 220. * Jan Lea Broeckx inMuseums of Belgium. Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Old Masters, 1959, No. 44 and 1969 No. 54. * André A. Moerman, inPublic Art Property Flanders 1963, p. 6-b. * Smith, Catal. Reasoned, VII, nr. 274, bl. 102. * Jeroen Giltaij, Lecture and notes on the paintings of Rembrandt and school in the Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp, 2006. * J. Couché, “Engraver du Cabinet” of the Duke of Orleans, Paris, J. Couché and J. Bouilard, MDCCLXXXVI. Described in the rare work: “Galerie du Palais * * Royal”, text by Abbé de Fontenai, engravings by; engraved therein as “Portrait d'un Bourgmestre”. by Malherbe and H. Guttemberg; Size given there: H. 4 v. 5 d., B. 3 v. 4 d. Cloth. De Fontenai calls this “un des chefs d'oeuvre de Rembrandt”. * Royal Museum of Fine Arts. Descriptive Catalog. I. Old Masters, 1905, p. 249-250. * Wenke Mast, Highlights, Website K.M.S.K.A., 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Preacher Eleazar Swalmius, The Paintings in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp Paintings by Rembrandt 1637 paintings 17th-century portraits