Study of the actor Willem Ruyter as a countryman, with alternative study of his head, and a bust-length study of a figure (c.q. kan?) holding a jug thumbnail 1
Study of the actor Willem Ruyter as a countryman, with alternative study of his head, and a bust-length study of a figure (c.q. kan?) holding a jug thumbnail 2
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Study of the actor Willem Ruyter as a countryman, with alternative study of his head, and a bust-length study of a figure (c.q. kan?) holding a jug

Drawing
1634-1638 (drawn)
Artist/Maker
Rembrandt Van Rijn (artist)
Place of origin
Amsterdam (drawn)

Study of the actor Willem Ruyters as an countrymanr; a stout aged man whose arms are behind him; Two studies of heads at the side, one from the same model as the first; Drawn with pen and ink, slightly heightened with white, on paper.

Object details

Category
Drawings
Object type
Drawing
TitleStudy of the actor Willem Ruyter as a countryman, with alternative study of his head, and a bust-length study of a figure (c.q. kan?) holding a jug (published title)
Materials and techniques
Pen and iron-gall ink, slightly heightened or corrected with opaque white, on paper deliberately tinted yellowish brown, double framing lines in brown ink.
Paper
Pen and Ink
Drawing (Image-Making)
Heightening
Brief description
Drawng, Study of the actor Willem Ruyter as a countryman, with alternative study of his head, and a bust-length study of a figure (c.q. kan?) holding a jug; by Rembrandt van Rijn, Pen and ink, slightly heightened with white on paper; Dutch School; c.1634-8
Physical description
Study of the actor Willem Ruyters as an countrymanr; a stout aged man whose arms are behind him; Two studies of heads at the side, one from the same model as the first; Drawn with pen and ink, slightly heightened with white, on paper.
Dimensions
  • Height: 176 mm
  • Width: 141 mm
Style
Dutch School
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
  • Inscribed at upper left, in pencil, 12; and at lower right, in brown ink (with the museum’s Dyce inv. no.), 435
  • On verso, at centre, in brown ink, Old Masters; and at upper left, in a nineteenth-century hand, in pencil (possibly replicating the original Dyce inv. no.), 677.
Gallery label
Rembrandt made several studies of the famous actorWillem Ruyter. The smock and cap are probably the costume of a country peasant worn by Ruyter in apopular play of the time. Rembrandt tinted the paper light brown to contrast with the dark ink he usedfor the drawing. The smudges of ink suggest that he used is finger to rub out areas with which he was unhappy.
Credit line
Bequeathed by Rev. Alexander Dyce
Object history
Possibly John Sell Cotman (1782–1842), London, by 1838;1 Rev. Alexander Dyce (1798–1869), London, by whom bequeathed to the museum (L. Suppl. 153b), 1869.
Subjects depicted
Man
Ruyters, Willem
Bibliographic references
  • DYCE COLLECTION. A Catalogue of the Paintings, Miniatures, Drawings, Engravings, Rings and Miscellaneous Objects Bequeathed by The Reverend Alexander Dyce. London : South Kensington Museum, 1874.
  • Jane Shoaf Turner and Christopher White, Catalogue of Dutch and Flemish Drawings in the Victoria and Albert Museum (London, 2014), vol. I, cat.160, p.210
  • Leonore van Sloten (Editor), (Writer of added commentary) Epco Runia(Editor) Nathalie Maciesza(Editor) F R E Blom (Writer of added commentary) Directed by Rembrandt: Rembrandt and the world of theatre Zwolle: WBOOKS, 2024 ISBN: 9789462586109, 9462586101
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
DYCE.435

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1023936/study-of-the-actor-willem-drawing-rembrandt-van-rijn/
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