Rembrandt (1606-1669)
Portrait of Johannes Wtenbogaert
1633
Oil on canvas, 130 x 103 cm
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Amsterdam merchant Abraham Anthonisz Recht was a convinced Remonstrant and great admirer of Wtenbogaert. He commissioned this portrait from Rembrandt in 1633 and hung it in his home. Wtenbogaert looks at you with a penetrating gaze, he is clearly a man of moral authority. And, a man of the Word, as the open book suggests. But exactly which book it is, remains unknown. (RIJKS)
See also:
• Wtenbogaert, Johannes (1557-1644)