Rembrandt van Rijn
Girl in the Picture frame is among the best portrait pieces ever painted by Rembrandt van Rijn. Yes, that Rembrandt—famous painter, draftsman, and graphic artist.
Today, the Girl looks at us as intensely as she did in 1641 when Rembrandt created the painting. It is the finest example of an illusion in the artist’s output. The Girl was depicted in a moment when she approaches the frame. You can easily notice that her left hand is placed on the frame but her right hand barely touches it with her fingers. And what a surprise—only later you discern that it is a feigned frame. When you are looking at the painting it is hard to say where the reality begins or ends. It seems that the Girl is about to leave the frame and enter our world. The boundary between the world of art and the world of ours has been broken.
The Girl and Scholar at His Writing Table (also by Rembrandt) are proudly owned by the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Since 1777 when they were bought by the king Stanisław August they have always been in Polish hands. Upon the monarch’s death they were sold and included into a private collection. Later they were transferred to Vienna by Lanckoroński family. It was there that both masterpieces were seized by the German Nazi army. Fortunately, after the war they were retrieved by the rightful owners. It was, however, only in 1994 that professor Karolina Lanckorońska, the last living member of the family, decided to donate both paintings to the Royal Castle in Warsaw. In earlier years, due to the complicated political situation in Europe they were safely hidden in Switzerland.
- Alicja Jakubowska
We present this breathtaking Rembrandt's painting thanks to The Royal Castle in Warsaw. <3
P.S. Read here about Rembrandt and his love story.
P.P.S. This is the last week of the presale of our paper desk and weekly Calendars for 2021 - it's the last chance to get them for -30% :) Don't miss it! shop.dailyartmagazine.com