How does A Polish Nobleman elucidate its History and provenance?
The painting was created by Rembrandt in 1637. It was not given an official title. The current one is the most recent, widely accepted one. Prior and alternate names include Portrait of a Slav Prince, Portrait d'un Turc, and Man in Russian Costume. Its authenticity was supported by an analysis of the panel's wood, which showed that it was cut from a tree felled around 1635 that was also used in the painter's River Landscape with Ruins (1650). The painting underwent restoration in 1985 and has been X-rayed.The painting's first owner or owners are not clear, but it might have been owned by a certain Harman van Swole. It was part of the extensive collection of Johann Karl Philipp von Cobenzl, a Carniolan nobleman who served as Maria Theresa's plenipotentiary in the Austrian Netherlands. After Cobenzl's bankruptcy, it was purchased in 1768 by Catherine II the Great and held in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.  It was purchased by Andrew Mellon in 1931, and given by the Mellon Trust to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in 1937. The painting was one of a number of artworks that Mellon had purchased from the Hermitage during the 1930s. He denied having made these purchases for several years, since the US was in a major depression – which would have made the acquisitions seem extravagant – and at odds with the Soviet government. The works were kept for some time in a non-public section of the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Carniola Corcoran Gallery of Art purchased from the Hermitage Johann Karl Philipp von Cobenzl Maria Theresa National Gallery of Art restoration Washington, D.C. Catherine II the Great Hermitage Museum Mellon Trust a major depression Rembrandt River Landscape with Ruins Andrew Mellon Austrian Netherlands Saint Petersburg Netherlands