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REMBRANDT VAN RIJN (LEIDEN 1606-AMSTERDAM 1669)
"The Shipbuilder and his Wife": Jan Rijcksen (1560/2-1637) and his Wife, Griet Jans
Signed and dated 1633RCIN 405533
At a cost of 5,000 guineas this spectacular painting was the most expensive that the Prince Regent ever bought. Painted shortly after Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam it indicates his innovative skill in transforming a traditional double portrait into a striking narrative of a wife interrupting her husband with a message, simultaneously conveying the public importance and private intimacy of the couple.
Purchased by Lord Yarmouth for George IV, 1811
