After eight years of intense restoration the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague has reattributed one of their star paintings “Saul and David” to the Dutch master, Rembrandt van Rijn. Since the work was originally acquired over a century ago by former museum director Abraham Bredius, it has undergone restorations to the point that Rembrandt experts began to doubt the works authentication and unattributed the work. Now with the advances in x-ray and restoration technologies restorers have been able to peer through several coats of paint, remove the previous restorations and confirm that the original pigment is the same used by Rembrandt in the 17th century as well as primer typically used by the master in the mid-1600s.
Since the work has been reattributed, it is set to be the centerpiece of the exhibition “Rembrandt? The Case of Saul and David.” The museum even had the work replicated as a 3D print so visitors can touch the painting and get a true understanding of Rembrandts painting technique. FULL ARTICLE
Image: Mauritshuis Website