Copy after Rembrandt’s (lost) Circumcision

Abstract

A number of paintings by Rembrandt are known that have been lost; that is, paintings which have disappeared but whose visual traces remain clearly evident in works by his pupils and followers. The fact that the original painting from which such works are derived is missing, however, leaves uncertainty surrounding a number of questions: for example, how reliable is the image we have from the derivative works? What place did it occupy in his oeuvre? What was the nature of its influence on Rembrandt’s pupils and followers? This entry will address these questions with regard to the lost Circumcision. In this case, a comparative analysis of the derivative works can help answer these questions and will even provide insight into the genesis of the lost painting.