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Rembrandt's Monogram

For the portrait, a value of $3,100 was set by the auction house because they thought they had a knockoff of a 17th century Rembrandt. When a British buyer agreed to pay 1,500 times more than that, he was completely aware of his actions. In an English auction house the Rembrandt Laughing which experts have confirmed was a self portrait done by the Dutch master, depicted with his head tilted back in easygoing laughter, was bought for a bargain price of four and a half million.

There is a collector whose specializes in Dutch and Flemish masters and according to him such a piece could have easily sold for $30 to $40 million and he was surprised that it did not do so well at the auction. It was according to the art expert from Sotheby's that the value of the painting could not be changed. The works of Rembrandt only come on the market once every couple of years and so the sale is a rare opportunity in itself.

In his hometown of Leiden was where Rembrandt painted the self portrait and he was in his early 20s then in 1628. This was during the time when he was earning his reputation as an artist and by using a mirror and his face he could play with expressions. Unbelievable was the presence it has. In their most natural form was the light as well as the laughter.

About 100 years was how long the painting had been in the possession of an English family. A number of people thought that it was one of Rembrandt's students or his imitator. The low evaluation from the auction house could have been caused by poor photographs only showing a little of the painting's luminosity or depth. From a 23 page analysis came the explanation showing how Rembrandt could have been the only one to create the little work considering everything from the brush strokes to the contour, monogram, and materials.

The painting was a genuine Rembrandt from the monogram RHL and this might have been realized by the winner of the auction considering the rare style used by the artist for only a year. What the monogram meant was Rembrandt Harmenszoon of Leiden. It was the signature HL that the auction house recorded in its assessment. Considering the brush stroke used by Rembrandt and how his initials were always painted onto the background these serve to be more compelling proof.

When it comes to the shape of the body of the laughing Rembrandt the experts were baffled. There was a woolly blanket for clothing, the metal armor and glossy shirt appear amorphous, it lay in lumpy folds, and there was limited definition of the anatomy below. But there is a distinct contour which he also used in his later works. When it comes to the contour there is a certain autonomy to it and this must be because Rembrandt was trying out this particular way of painting the body for the first time.

The thin copper plate on which the piece is painted matches in size and type with others used in other Rembrandt paintings. Xrays reveal a second painting underneath its content and composition also consistent with other Rembrandt works. No one knows where the painting was before 1800 and it was the time when a Flemish engraver attributed the original to the Dutch painter Frans Hals when he made a reproductive print as he did not realize that the face in the picture was Rembrandt's. Because of the silence that followed the location of the painting again became a mystery.

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