In My Opinion
With Sandra Pianin

When no other opinion matters.

Sandra Pianin is a freelance writer who lives in Queens, New York. Her work has appeared on many online sites with subjects from gardening to politics. In the past, she has been a reviewer for the High Definition Film Festival, the author of a Hollywood business column for www.matchflick.com and a web pundit for www.webpundit.net.

EDITORIAL OF THE WEEK

Buying a Rembrandt 
 

With the recent 400th birthday of Rembrandt Harmensz van Rjjn, there has been a lot of opportunity to see the Dutch master's work in museums from Amsterdam in the Netherlands to Dayton, Ohio to Washington, DC. The opportunities for buying a Rembrandt are few and far between.  At last count, there were, perhaps, fourteen Rembrandts in the world that are in private collections.  Maybe six of them remain in the United Kingdom and experts say you can't get an export license to leave the country. Rembrandt's paintings have mythic status.  At one point, 630 paintings have been attributed to Rembrandt.  But, the Rembrandt Research Project has downgraded that total by half.  Many of the paintings having been done by pupils, imitators or worse. Later paintings by Rembrandt are just not available for private investors.  In his late period, Rembrandt was not as prolific as at other times.  When tycoons like Mellon were buying, they wanted Rembrandts that were larger and had brighter colors.   Today, buyers do not have the luxury of preference with such a small supply to buy from.  Once in a great while, a Rembrandt becomes available when it has been found beneath layers of overpaint. We can't be as lucky as casino tycoon, Steve Wynn who bought a Rembrandt for $11 million.  Who knows what other treasures by Rembrandt are still out there to be found?   ~*~Sandra Pianin ~*~

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