Head of an old woman, traditionally identified as Neeltgen Willemsdr. van Zuytbrouck (1569-1640), Rembrandt's mother, half-length, in a black costume with a fur hat, in a feigned oval

This image of an elderly woman is frequently identified as Rembrandt's mother, Neeltgen Willemsdochter van Zuytbrouck, who scholars believe sat for the artist on a number of occasions in the early part of his career. This panel is among the few surviving versions of a composition listed in the definitive Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings, which scholars have concluded records a lost painting by Rembrandt, probably executed c. 1630⁄31, just before the artist's painting at Windsor Castle showing the same model (see Corpus, nos. C41 and A32). This lost work is known to have influenced several of Rembrandt's pupils: Gerard Dou (1613-1675), for instance, borrowed the expression and dress of the sitter for a number of his oval-shaped portraits that clearly depict the same woman. Dendrochronology indicates the panel could have been ready for use as early as 1621, suggesting the unknown artist was close to Rembrandt, and could have been among the many artists who viewed and copied the lost prime (the full dendrochronological report is available on request).

We are grateful to Emerald Dickson and Evrard van Zuylen at Webaldic for their research into the seals applied to the reverse.