Rijksmuseum Authenticates 1633 Rembrandt Painting

Researchers at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam have authenticated a long-disputed painting as an early work by Rembrandt van Rijn, confirming it as a genuine piece from 1633 that will go on public display at the museum starting Wednesday.

The canvas, titled Vision of Zacharias in the Temple, depicts a biblical scene in which the elderly high priest Zacharias receives a divine message from the Archangel Gabriel foretelling the birth of a son, John the Baptist, to him and his wife despite their advanced age. Painted when Rembrandt was 27, the work captures Zacharias's startled expression illuminated by light streaming from the upper right, symbolizing Gabriel's presence without rendering the angel explicitly. The painting employs thick layers of paint in an impasto technique to convey dramatic lighting, a method consistent with Rembrandt's style.

Until 1960, the work was accepted as part of Rembrandt's oeuvre, but it was then deattributed to his workshop, possibly involving artists such as Jan Lievens or Salomon Koninck. Art experts later attributed the decision to limitations in mid-20th-century analysis, including reliance on black-and-white photographs and evaluations without...