A painting that spent decades labeled as a forgery at a Pennsylvania museum has been revealed to be an authentic work by the Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn, potentially worth millions of dollars. The remarkable discovery has stunned the art world and demonstrates how even expert opinions can change dramatically over time.
The artwork, titled "Portrait of a Young Woman," was first donated to the Allentown Art Museum in Pennsylvania in 1961 by the Kress Foundation. At the time of donation, experts believed it was a genuine original painting by Rembrandt van Rijn, the renowned 17th-century Dutch artist. However, about ten years later in the 1970s, art historians and experts reversed their opinion, declaring the 388-year-old painting to be a forgery or at best the work of one of Rembrandt's assistants or students.
For nearly five decades, the painting remained in the museum's collection but was attributed to the "Studio of Rembrandt" rather than to the master himself. This designation acknowledged that while the work had been created in Rembrandt's workshop, it was not considered to be by his own hand. The painting continued to hang in the museum under this lesser attribution, with its true potential remaining hidden beneath layers of accumulated dirt, varnish, and overpainting.
The dramatic reversal of fortune came when the museum decided to send the painting to New York University for professional conservation and cleaning. As conservators began their meticulous work, carefully removing layers of thick, yellowed varnish and later oil paint additions, they started to notice something extraordinary. The brushstrokes and artistic technique that emerged from beneath the grime appeared to demonstrate the exceptional skill and distinctive style characteristic of Rembrandt's own work.
The conservators were struck by the quality and sophistication of the brushwork, which seemed far too accomplished to be the work of a student or copyist. "We can see it with new eyes now," explained Elaine Mehalakes, the museum's vice president of curatorial affairs. "There's a glow that was obscured before. And it has a weight that's been brought to it in terms of the scholarly attention that it's getting."
To confirm their suspicions, the conservation team employed advanced scientific analysis techniques, including infrared reflectography and scanning electron microscopy. These high-tech tools allowed them to examine the painting's underlying structure, brushstroke patterns, and materials in unprecedented detail. The results were compelling: the brushstrokes were extremely consistent with Rembrandt's documented technique and far too precise and masterful to be the work of an imitator or student.
The findings were so significant that outside experts were brought in to independently examine the painting. These additional specialists concurred with the conservation team's assessment, agreeing that the work was indeed an authentic Rembrandt. The consensus among experts marked a complete reversal of the 1970s determination that had branded the painting as inauthentic.
This type of attribution confusion is actually not uncommon in the art world, particularly when it comes to works by Rembrandt. The Dutch master operated a large and busy studio where he trained numerous students and assistants. As part of their education, these pupils were regularly instructed to copy and replicate Rembrandt's existing works, creating a substantial body of paintings that closely mimicked his style but were not created by his own hand.
"Rembrandt attributions have been very volatile over the years," Mehalakes noted, highlighting the ongoing challenges in definitively identifying the artist's authentic works. She explained that at various times in art history, as many as 600 paintings have been attributed to Rembrandt, while at other periods, that number has been reduced to as few as 200 works.
Recognizing the complexity of these attribution issues, a group of dedicated scholars established The Rembrandt Research Project in 1968. This specialized initiative has been devoted to the systematic evaluation and authentication of works allegedly created by the Dutch painter. Despite their efforts, many supposed Rembrandt paintings remain subjects of ongoing debate within the art community.
One notable example of this continuing controversy is "The Auctioneer," which currently hangs in New York City's prestigious Metropolitan Museum of Art. Like the Allentown painting before its recent authentication, this work's attribution to Rembrandt continues to be questioned and debated by experts.
For art enthusiasts and museum professionals, discoveries like the newly authenticated Rembrandt represent some of the most exciting moments in the field. "This single object in our collection has this incredibly rich and complicated history, and for all we know, there could be stories like that among other artworks," Mehalakes said. "It's very exciting."
The "Portrait of a Young Woman" was originally donated to the museum by the Kress Foundation, an organization that has focused on preserving and sharing the priceless Renaissance art collection assembled by department store magnate Samuel Kress. The foundation has made it their mission to donate valuable artworks to museums throughout the United States and continues to oversee the conservation of these donated pieces at no cost to the institutions that house them. The foundation's conservation laboratory is conveniently located at New York University, which is where the Rembrandt's true identity was finally revealed.
The authenticated Rembrandt painting will continue to remain in the permanent collection of the Allentown Art Museum. While the artwork has not yet been formally appraised since its authentication, and the museum has indicated no intention to sell the piece, recent sales of authentic Rembrandt works provide some indication of its potential value. Genuine Rembrandt paintings have sold for as much as $33 million at auction in recent years.
Rather than considering a sale, the museum is eager to share their newly polished crown jewel with the public. The "Portrait of a Young Woman" is scheduled to be featured as part of a special exhibition planned for the upcoming summer, giving visitors the opportunity to see this remarkable rediscovery firsthand.
While this story may seem unusual, mistaken attributions and surprising rediscoveries occur with some regularity in the art world, and not exclusively with Rembrandt paintings. Just last year, a woman in France made headlines when she learned that what she believed to be a fake Renaissance painting hanging above her kitchen stove was actually a 700-year-old masterpiece of significant value.
Similarly, art history is filled with tales of lost masterpieces being rediscovered in unexpected places. In recent years, a priceless 17th-century Caravaggio painting was discovered hidden behind mattresses in an old French attic, while advanced imaging technology revealed a hidden sketch beneath one of Leonardo da Vinci's 500-year-old masterpieces.
These discoveries serve as reminders that the art world still holds many secrets, and that even expert opinions can evolve as new technology and research methods become available. The transformation of the Allentown Art Museum's "fake" Rembrandt into an authentic masterpiece represents not just a financial windfall for the institution, but a significant contribution to our understanding of the Dutch master's body of work and artistic legacy.
