Rembrandt and the Inspiration of India

Rembrandt and the Inspiration of India, The Getty Center, Los Angeles, till June 24th

getty.edu

Rembrandt, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and drawings of Mughal portraits ?

Where did Rembrandt see Indian Mughal portraits? We are not sure where he might have seen such portraits; one opinion is that they were in Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna and were painted over in the 18th century. Rembrandt had enough access to things Indian, he collected several Indian antiques, imported by the VOC and brought to Amsterdam; and Rembrandt was curious in subject matters beyond European and biblical scenes. This exhibition shows side by side Mughal originals and some 25 of Rembrandt’s drawings of the same subject.

Cheers,

Elisabeth