Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
1606-1669
Two Indian Noblemen
ca. 1654-1656
7 1/2 x 9 3/16 inches (191 x 234 mm); Richardson mount: 9 5/16 x 11 1/8 inches (237 x 283 mm)
Pen and brown ink and wash, with red chalk wash, yellow watercolor, white opaque watercolor, black chalk and scraping on Japanese paper.
I, 208
Purchased by Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) in 1909.
Notes
Watermark: none visible through lining with fiber optic light.
An album with 25 of Rembrandt's studies after Mughal miniatures was assembled in the first half of the 18th century by the English painter and collector Jonathan Richardson, Sr. Today at least 24 of these Richardson drawings, including Inv. nos. I, 207 and I, 208, are known; all are identified by the stamp of the collector's monogram, and all are executed on Japanese paper.
The archer has been identified as the famous general, statesman and scholar at the Mughal court Abd-al-Rahim Khan (1556-1627), known under the title Khan-i-Khanan. The nobleman on the left, who holds a falcon in his gloved right hand and the lure in his left, has been tentatively identified by as Khan Alem, who served from 1613 to 1619 as ambassador to the court of the Shah of Persia and who at one time was also chief falconer.
An album with 25 of Rembrandt's studies after Mughal miniatures was assembled in the first half of the 18th century by the English painter and collector Jonathan Richardson, Sr. Today at least 24 of these Richardson drawings, including Inv. nos. I, 207 and I, 208, are known; all are identified by the stamp of the collector's monogram, and all are executed on Japanese paper.
The archer has been identified as the famous general, statesman and scholar at the Mughal court Abd-al-Rahim Khan (1556-1627), known under the title Khan-i-Khanan. The nobleman on the left, who holds a falcon in his gloved right hand and the lure in his left, has been tentatively identified by as Khan Alem, who served from 1613 to 1619 as ambassador to the court of the Shah of Persia and who at one time was also chief falconer.
Inscriptions/Markings
The old Richardson mount has been cut down, thereby eliminating the usual inscriptions, except for a tiny illegible fragment at the top of the verso.
Associated names
Richardson, Jonathan, 1665-1745, former owner.
Rogers, Charles, 1711-1784, former owner.
Aylesford, Heneage Finch, Earl of, 1786-1859, former owner.
Murray, Charles Fairfax, 1849-1919, former owner.
Morgan, J. Pierpont (John Pierpont), 1837-1913, former owner.
Rogers, Charles, 1711-1784, former owner.
Aylesford, Heneage Finch, Earl of, 1786-1859, former owner.
Murray, Charles Fairfax, 1849-1919, former owner.
Morgan, J. Pierpont (John Pierpont), 1837-1913, former owner.
Bibliography
Collection J. Pierpont Morgan : Drawings by the Old Masters Formed by C. Fairfax Murray. London : Privately printed, 1905-1912, I, 208, repr.
Stampfle, Felice and Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann. Rembrandt Drawings from American Collections. Cambridge, MA: Fogg Art Museum; New York: Pierpont Morgan Library, 1960, no. 62, repr.
Stampfle, Felice. Rubens and Rembrandt in Their Century : Flemish and Dutch Drawings of the Seventeenth Century from The Pierpont Morgan Library. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1979, no. 76, repr.
Jane Shoaf Turner, with contributions by Felice Stampfle, Dutch Drawings in the Pierpont Morgan Library: Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries, New York, 2006, cat. no. 222.
Stampfle, Felice and Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann. Rembrandt Drawings from American Collections. Cambridge, MA: Fogg Art Museum; New York: Pierpont Morgan Library, 1960, no. 62, repr.
Stampfle, Felice. Rubens and Rembrandt in Their Century : Flemish and Dutch Drawings of the Seventeenth Century from The Pierpont Morgan Library. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1979, no. 76, repr.
Jane Shoaf Turner, with contributions by Felice Stampfle, Dutch Drawings in the Pierpont Morgan Library: Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries, New York, 2006, cat. no. 222.
Classification
Century Drawings
School
Catalog link
Department