Portrait of Rembrandt, worth seven million pounds sterling could be a fake

Rembrandt, stored in the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, can not be the creation of the famous painter of the Netherlands, and one of his students, reports BBC News. "Self-Portrait of young man," Rembrandt is considered to be in the exposure of the British Museum for over 50 years. Experts estimate the cost of a picture of 7 million pounds (12, 5 million U.S. dollars). However, a well-known art historian Ernst van der Vetering (Ernst van de Wetering), who heads the Amsterdam Institute of Rembrandt Research Projekt (RRP), suggests that the picture was written by a pupil of Rembrandt. Examining the painting, van der Vetering came to the conclusion that the manner of writing, and coloring pictures "too primitive" to the great artist. The expert believes that the picture belongs to one of the disciples of the great Fleming. However, the Walker Art Gallery Guide does not agree with the opinion of an expert. At the moment, a more or less accurate attribution "Self Portrait of young man" can not be considered representatives of the museum. First, you need to restore - to clear the canvas from a layer of darkened varnish and to remove later layers - only then can try to establish the authorship of paintings, they said.

Amsterdam Institute of Rembrandt Research Projekt (RRP), led by van der Vetering, questioned the authenticity of two paintings by Rembrandt - "Boys in a turban," and "old women". Both paintings are in the collection of Queen Elizabeth II.

November 4, 2005