Rembrandt Painting Sells for $33.2M

(Wall Street Journal) - A Rembrandt portrait that hadn't been seen in public for nearly four decades has sold for $33.2 million at Christie's in London. The price is a record for a Rembrandt painting. The sale underscores collectors' willingness to buy older masterpieces even as global prices remain shaky for living artists.

"Portrait of a Man, Half-Length, With His Arms Akimbo" is a 1658 oil depiction of a confident young man in a beret and sash. Christie's priced it to sell for between $28 million and $38 million.

The work also represents the third-highest price paid this year for a work of art at auction, following an Henri Matisse table scene that Christie's sold this spring for $46.5 million and an Andy Warhol screen print of 200 dollar bills that Sotheby's sold for $43.7 million last month.

Rembrandt van Rijn, the Renaissance master known for his psychologically complex portraits and earthen-hued palette, was in financial straits when he painted "Portrait of a Man." The artist had declared bankruptcy two years earlier in 1656, and was eventually compelled to sell off his art collection and house in Amsterdam. Critics say Dutch society no longer craved his painting style, a mix of rough brushstrokes with subtle lighting and unflinching honesty. The identity of the sitter in this portrait -- a man with a self-assured gaze -- is unknown.

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