Rediscovered Rembrandt Etchings on Exhibit
An inherited collection of prints turned out to be museum-worthy works by the Dutch master.
For years, Charlotte Meyer in Zutphen, the Netherlands, believed that the antique prints she inherited from her grandfather were beautiful, but that their value was mostly sentimental. It wasn’t until much later that she sought an expert opinion and learned that she had a rare collection of etchings by Rembrandt.
Meyer had kept the folder of prints stashed in a drawer, but, when she came across it while packing for a move during the COVID-19 pandemic, she decided to contact the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam. She told Dutch news outlet Omroep Gelderland, “When they came to my house to see the etchings, they were completely blown away and said, ‘Charlotte, you have no idea what you’ve got!’”
Meyer’s grandfather had collected the etchings between 1900 and 1920. “Nobody was interested in etchings at that time,” she says. “For just a few guilders, my grandfather bought 35 different ones.” The etchings would be worth much more now, especially since they are little known in the art world, having been kept in the family for about a hundred years. Meyer has not disclosed their current value.
Inspired by her discovery, Meyer began seeking more etchings by Rembrandt and other artists of the Dutch Golden Age, expanding her collection to 70 pieces. Her collection will be on display at the Stedelijk Museum in Zutphen as part of the exhibit “Rembrandt, from Dark to Light,” which opens on March 21.
This year has already had several remarkable events surrounding Rembrandt’s work. In February, his chalk sketch Young Lion Resting sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York for nearly $18 million, a record for a Rembrandt drawing, with the proceeds going to wildcat conservation charity Panthera. More recently, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam confirmed that a painting in a private collection, Vision of Zacharias in the Temple, is the work of Rembrandt, despite having been previously dismissed as such.
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