The Actor Willem Bartholsz Ruyter as a Peasant, Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1638

The Actor Willem Bartholsz Ruyter as a Peasant, Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1638

pen and iron-gall ink, with brown wash and opaque white, some areas deliberately rubbed with a finger or wet brush, on paper toned with a light brown wash; framing line in brown ink, h 139mm × w 174mm Catalogue entry

Willem Bartholsz Ruyter (1587-1639) was a famous actor in Amsterdam. One drawing shows him as King Ahasuerus, who has just heard from his Jewish wife, Esther, that his confidant Haman had ordered the death of all Jews. In the second study, he wears the costume of a country yokel who was the central figure in popular farces called ‘boertigheden’.

Color code: #F1E5C8 Color code: #D9CAAA Color code: #88755C Color code: #B6A07D Color code: #655240 Color code: #413933

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Catalogue entry

Identification

Title(s)

The Actor Willem Bartholsz Ruyter as a Peasant
Actor Willem Bartholsz Ruyter as a Peasant

Object type

drawing

Object number

RP-T-1996-6

Description

Een dikke man, die met de handen over elkaar geslagen op een tafelblad leunt. Zijn slappe hoed zakt wat naar voren en werpt een schaduw over zijn bolle gezicht. Geportretteerde is Willem Ruyter, een toneelacteur als boer weergegeven, met een kiel en een vormeloos hoedje.

Creation

Artist

draughtsman: Rembrandt van Rijn

Place

Amsterdam

Dating

c. 1638

Material and Technique

Physical features

pen and iron-gall ink, with brown wash and opaque white, some areas deliberately rubbed with a finger or wet brush, on paper toned with a light brown wash; framing line in brown ink

Material

Technique

pen

Measurements

height 139 mm × width 174 mm

Explanatory note

Mogelijk trad Ruyter op in 'boertigheden'. Deze populaire kluchten, met een onnozele boer in de hoofdrol, werden regelmatig opgevoerd in de Amsterdamse Schouwburg. Marijn Schapelhouman, Rembrandt en de kunst van het tekenen, Zwolle/Amsterdam 2006, p. 38, kleurafb. 32

Subject

What

portrait of actor, actress

When

1625 - 1650

Where

Amsterdam

Who

Willem Bartholsz. Ruyter

Acquisition and rights

Acquisition

purchase 1996

Copyright

Public domain

Provenance

…; private collection, Frankfurt-am-Main;{Verbal communication with the previous owner.} by whom donated to a private collector, southern Germany, after 1945;{Verbal communication with the previous owner.} from whom purchased by the museum (L. 2228), 1996

Bibliography and list of abbreviations for the provenance (pdf)

Notes

Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

Documentation

Saskia : de vrouw van Rembrandt, Ben P.J. Broos, p. 76-78
Oude tekeningen, nieuwe namen : Rembrandt en tijdgenoten, Peter Schatborn, Rembrandt, Leonore van Sloten, p. 100-101, cat.nr. 31
Drawings by Rembrandt and his pupils : telling the difference : Ferdinand Bol, Willem Drost, Gerbrand van den Eeckhout ... [et al.], p. 75
Rembrandt en de kunst van het tekenen, Marijn Schapelhouman, p. 38-39
Rembrandt, Klaus Albrecht Schröder, Marian Bisanz-Prakken, S.A.C. Dudok van Heel, Ger Luijten, cat.nr. 42
Rembrandt : a genius and his impact, Albert Blankert, Marleen Blokhuis, p. 329
Aanwinsten / Robert-Jan te Rijdt, Cindy van Weele, Marijn Schapelhouman, Freek Heijbroek, Ger Luijten, Robert-Jan A. te Rijdt, Cindy van Weele, Marijn Schapelhouman, Jan Frederik Heijbroek, Ger Luijten, p. 283-285
Rembrandts portret van de acteur Willem Ruyter, Peter Schatborn, Marieke de Winkel
C. van Weele, 'Een Rembrandt in de schoot geworpen', Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 49 (2001) 2-3, p. 283-285 (afb.).
Volker Manuth en Marieke de Winkel, 'Rembrandt, een theaterganger? 'Desipientia 15 (april/mei 2008), nr. 1, p. 28-32, afb. 5

Persistent URL

To refer to this object please use the following persistent URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.323621

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