Dutch museum makes 'needle in a haystack' confirmation of Rembrandt painting

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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A painting that was once rejected as a work by Rembrandt van Rijn has now been acknowledged as a work by the Dutch master, thanks to two years of scrutiny in the city where the then-27-year-old artist painted it in 1633, a museum announced Monday.

The Netherlands' national art and history museum, the Rijksmuseum, unveiled the work, “Vision of Zacharias in the Temple,” and said painstaking analysis including high-tech scans has confirmed it was painted by Rembrandt after he moved to the capital, Amsterdam.

The painting hasn't been on public display in decades after being bought by a private collector in 1961, a year after it was deemed not to be a Rembrandt, the museum said in a statement. From Wednesday, will go on show among other masterpieces at the Rijksmusuem, where it is on long-term loan.

Director Taco Dibbits said the museum often gets emails from people asking if the painting they own might just be by the Golden Age master.

“We always hope to find a new Rembrandt, but this happens rarely," he told The Associated Press. He said making such a discovery “is just like (finding) a needle in a haystack.”

The owner, who has remained anonymous, initially asked the museum only if the painting was Dutch.

“He really didn’t know what he had. And then to discover that it’s a Rembrandt is something that’s amazing to experience,” Dibbits said.

The painting depicts a biblical story in which high priest Zacharias is visited by the Archangel Gabriel, who tells the priest that he and his wife will have a son: John the Baptist. Zacharias' surprised expression is highlighted by light heralding the arrival of Gabriel, the museum said.

An in-depth study of the work, including macro X-ray fluorescence scans and comparisons with other works by the artist, confirmed Rembrandt painted it, said the museum’s curator of 17th century Dutch paintings, Jonathan Bikker.

“So the wood that was used for the panel on which it’s painted, that is definitely from a tree that was cut down before 1633, the date on the painting,” he said.

"All the pigments, the paint in the painting were used by Rembrandt in other paintings. And the layers of paint and how he painted it, that is also precisely the same as in other works by Rembrandt,” he added.

The work joins about 350 known Rembrandt paintings and raised the hope that there may be more.

“We’re not actively looking for new paintings by Rembrandt, but I think this gives us hope — not just us, but everyone who’s interested in Rembrandt,” Bikker said.