The Actor Willem Bartholsz Ruyter as a Peasant

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

RP-T-1996-6

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’.

Volker Manuth en Marieke de Winkel, 'Rembrandt, een theaterganger? 'Desipientia 15 (april/mei 2008), nr. 1, p. 28-32, afb. 5

draughtsman: Rembrandt van Rijn, Amsterdam

c. 1638

pen en ijzergallusinkt, met penseel in bruine inkt en witte dekverf, sommige plekken opzettelijk geveegd met een vinger of nat penseel, op lichtbruin gekleurd papier; kaderlijnen in bruine inkt

height 139 mm x width 174 mm

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

purchase 1996

Public domain

…; 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

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.

• Volker Manuth en Marieke de Winkel, 'Rembrandt, een theaterganger? 'Desipientia 15 (april/mei 2008), nr. 1, p. 28-32, afb. 5
• C. van Weele, 'Een Rembrandt in de schoot geworpen', Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 49 (2001) 2-3, p. 283-285 (afb.).

To refer to this object, please use the following persistent URL:

https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200385192