Young Man with a Plumed Hat

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Young Man with a Plumed Hat

Artist Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669)

Date1631

DimensionsPainting: 32 × 26 in. (81.3 × 66 cm)
Frame: 44 1/4 × 37 3/4 × 4 in. (112.4 × 95.9 × 10.2 cm)

Mediumoil on wood panel

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1926.64

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 23

Label TextThis young man’s flamboyant feathered cap and gold chain did not reflect contemporary 17th-century Dutch fashion. Rather, the theatricality of his costume suggests that instead of being a portrait of a particular person, this painting portrays an anonymous model. Rembrandt painted many exotically clothed character studies, which he used to examine emotions and states of mind and to display his skill at depicting textures and light effects (see also Man in a Fur-lined Coat). These appealing images sold well to Amsterdam’s merchant class, contributing to the young artist’s success in that city after moving from his native Leiden in 1631, the year he painted Young Man with a Plumed Hat. Here, the shadow falling across the youth’s downcast eyes suggests introspection, adding psychological depth to the painting. During his long career, Rembrandt’s great range, wealth of imagination, and depth of feeling allowed him to express the emotions and complexities of the human condition in a way few artists have equaled.Published ReferencesValentiner, W. R., and W. Bode, Rembrandt in Bild und Wort, Berlin, 1906, p. 45, repr. (as a self-portrait).

Valentiner, W. R., "Opmerkingen over Enkele Schilderijen van Rembrandt," Onze Kunst, 1907, pp. 64-65 (as a self-portrait).

Rosenberg, A., Rembrandt, New York, 1909, p. 33, repr.

de Groot, C. Hofstede, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century Based on the Work of John Smith, London, VI, no. 577 (as a self-portrait).

Errera, Isabella, Répertoire des peinture datées, Bruxelles, 1920, p. 194.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, no. 48, March 1926, repr.

Bredius, A., The Paintings of Rembrandt, Vienna, 1936, no. 143.

Godwin, Blake-More, Catalogue of European Paintings, Toledo, 1939, p. 92, repr. p. 93.

Myers, Bernard S., ed., Encyclopedia of Paintings, New York, 1955, p. 410, repr. (col.).

Grosser, Maurice, Critic's Eye, Indianapolis, 1962, p. 168.

Constable, W. G., Art Collecting in the United States of America: an Outline of a History, London, 1964, p. 130.

Bauch, K. , Rembrandt Gemälde, Berlin, 1966, no. 138, repr.

Toledo Museum of Art, A Guide to the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, 1966, repr. (col.).

Wittmann, Otto, "The Golden Age in the Netherlands," Apollo, vol. 86, no. 70, Dec. 1967, p. 466, repr. fig. 1.

Erpel, F., Die Selbst Bildnisse Rembrandts, Berlin, 1967, p. 233, repr. p. 201.

Gerson, H., Rembrandt Paintings, Amsterdam, 1968, pp. 204, 490, repr. p. 205.

Lecaldano, Paolo, L'Opera pittoriea completa di Rembrandt, Milano, 1969, repr. p. 96, fig. 64.

Bredius, A., The Paintings of Rembrandt (3rd ed., rev. by H. Gerson), London, 1971, no. 143.

Greenhill, Eleanor S., Dictionary of Art, New York, 1974, repr. pl. 18.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collections, Toledo, 1976, repr. p. 52.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, European Paintings, Toledo, 1976, pp. 134-135, pl. 100.

Bolten, Jaap, The Hidden Rembrandt, Chicago, 1977, repr. p. 175, no. 77.

"Acquisitions," Art Journal, vol. 37, no. 3, Spring 1978, p. 271.

Strauss, Walter L., The Rembrandt Documents, New York, 1979, p. 73.

Morse, John D., Old Master Paintings in North America, New York, 1979, p. 232.

Schwartz, Gary, Rembrandt, zijn leven, zijn schilderijen, Maarssen, 1984, p. 62, repr. (col.).

Stichting Foundation Rembrandt Research Project, A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings, The Hague, 1987, vol. 1, pp. 383-390, reprs.; vol. 2, p. 847.

Lewis, David, "Museum Impressions," Carnegie Magazine, vol. 59, no. 12, Nov./Dec. 1989, p. 15.

Great Dutch Paintings from America, The Hague, 1990, p. 40.

A Gift to America: Masterpieces of European Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection, New York, 1994, p. 170, fig. 1 [not in exhibition].

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Treasures, Toledo, 1995, p. 88, repr. (col.).

Wright, Christopher, Rembrandt, Paris, 2000, p. 247, fig. 243 (col.) p. 248.

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art: Map and Guide, London, Scala, 2005, pp. 22-23, repr. (col.), p. 22.

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art: Map and Guide, London, Scala, 2009, pp. 22-23, repr. (col.)

Keyes, George, Thomas Rassieur, and Dennis P. Weller, Rembrandt in America: collecting and connoisseurship,Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art, 2011, p 130, plate 34 (col.), p. 134.

Manuth, Volker, Marieke de Winkel, and Rudie van Leeuwen, Rembrandt: The Complete Paintings, Cologne, Germany, Taschen, 2019, p. 684, repr. (col.) no. 279.

Exhibition HistoryLeyden, Stedelijk Museum, Exposition de tableaux et de dessins de Rembrandt..., 1906, no. 38.

New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Catalogue of Paintings by Old Dutch Masters, 1910, no. 75.

Toledo, The Toledo Museum of Art, Inaugural Exhibition, 1912, no. 200.

Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Inaugural Exhibition, 1916, no. 16, p. 109, repr.

Toledo, The Toledo Museum of Art, Portraits and Portraiture Throughout the Ages, 1937, no. 15.

New York, Wildenstein, Rembrandt, 1950, no. 1, repr.

Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, Rembrandt: What Was He Thinking, March 3-May 28, 2006.

Amsterdam, Rembrandt House Museum; Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Gemäldegalerie, Rembrandt--Quest of a Genius, 2006, p. 52, fig. 55, p. 53 (col.).