Newly authenticated Rembrandt painting!!!

Rijksmuseum researchers recently analysed the Vision of Zacharias in the Temple 1633 and reported it's a Rembrandt van Rijn, painted when he'd moved from Leiden to Amsterdam. The work once rejected as a Rembrandt has now been authenticated, after 2 years of rugged scrutiny.

His vision of Zacharias depicted an account in the Gospel of Luke of the High Priest Zachariah  learning his barren elderly wife Elizabeth would bear a son, the future John the Baptist. Zachariah was captured while performing his Temple duties, reading scripture in front of burning incense, caught unawares. His expression conveyed his surprise as the Archangel Gabriel's news struck him dumb. Zachariah remained mute through the conception and pregnancy, regaining his speech after he agreed their son would be named John. Gabriel was not visible in the painting which only suggested his presence; the angel was unusually represented as radiant light in the upper right corner of the panel. This was an unusual approach at a time when angels were normally depicted as humans with wings. But remember Rembrandt at that time was primarily producing lucrative portraits, not Biblical scenes.

Vision of Zacharias in the Temple 

 by Rembrandt, 1633

Rijksmuseum

In the distant past it was attributed to Rembrandt, and appeared in the first major Dutch exhibition dedicated to him at the Stedelijk Museum in 1898. A 1898 label behind the panel noted the work was exhibited in Sept-Oct as an authentic Rembrandt. But after 1960, specialists decided the work might have been painted by one of Rembrandt’s collaborators such as Jan Lievens, according to Dutch news outlet Het Parool. Without being able to view the work, these claims could not be verified until two years ago.

In 1960, Rembrandt specialists rejected the attribution and the work disappeared. Scholars weren’t permitted to study it until 2 years ago when the owner contacted the museum. The Rijksmuseum unveiled the work and said painstaking analysis and hightech scans had confirmed it was painted by Rembrandt after the young artist moved to Amsterdam. The painting hasn’t been on public display in decades after being bought by a private collector in 1961, a year after it was not called a Rembrandt. Vision of Zacharias was last studied in 1960 when scholars ruled out the possibility that it could be by the Dutch master. Why was the painting excluded from a list of the Dutch master's works in 1960 and why did it disappear after being sold to a private collector in 1961. Although it hasn’t seen publicly since 1961, specialists have recently access to a much wider range of advanced modern analysis techniques.

The work was handed to the museum’s Conservation Dept, which was recently responsible for Operation Night Watch, the museum’s ambitious research & conservation project. As well as traditional stylistic comparisons and signature analysis, the 2-year research project centred around a macro X-ray fluorescence scans. It found traces revealing the composition had been altered, typical of the Dutch Old Master’s painting technique. This deep study of the work, including a scan and comparisons with his other works, confirmed young Rembrandt painted it.

Evidence

The recent 2-year study revealed that all the paints used for the Vision of Zacharias were found in other Rembrandts from the early 1630s. The museum confirmed the authenticity after studying the paints, which fit with those used by Rembrandt during that period. The painting technique and the build-up of paint layers were similar to other early works by Rembrandt, compositional changes that supported the work’s authenticity. The changes made to details while Rembrandt was still painting were analysed; the artist’s signature was applied while the painting was still wet, so it was original. Material analysis, stylistic and thematic similarities, alterations made by Rembrandt, and the overall quality of the painting all support the conclusion that this painting is a genuine work. The very high quality painting had all the hall marks of Rembrandt at the peak of his early career. Rijksmuseum’s director unveiled the painting, on show to the public among their other masterpieces, where it is on long-term loan.

 

Dating analysis of the wooden panel confirmed the wood that was used for the panel on which it was painted was definitely from a tree that was cut down before 1633. The work’s oak panel was dated to c1625-40 by tree-ring dating. A material analysis showed that the paints used were the same as those used in other Rembrandt works from the era. Other factors that support the authentication of this painting include its overall high quality and its thematic parallels with the rest of Rembrandt’s early oeuvre, including Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem 1630 and Daniel and Cyrus Before the Idol Bel 1633 

Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem 

by Rembrandt 1630 

ArtWay

Zacharias' surprised look was emphasised by light marking the arrival of Gabriel. An in-depth study of the work, including macro X-ray fluorescence scans and comparisons with other works by the artist, confirmed Rembrandt painted it, said the museum’s curator of C17th Dutch paintings, Jonathan Bikker. All the pigments in the painting were used by Rembrandt in other paintings. 

Daniel and Cyrus Before the Idol Bel, 

by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1633 

Getty Museum

The work joined c350 known Rembrandt paintings. See March 2026 issue of the Burlington Magazine. Thanks to Rijksmuseum identifies new Rembrandt painting, 2026