The Unconscious Patient (Allegory of Smell) (detail), about 1624–25, Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, oil on panel. Image courtesy of the Leiden Collection, New York
The Promise of Youth: Rembrandt’s “Senses” Rediscovered
GETTY CENTER
South Pavilion, Upper Level
Three of Rembrandt’s earliest known works, intensely rendered allegories of Touch, Smell, and Hearing from a series of the five senses painted in 1624–25, when Rembrandt (1606–1669) was just eighteen or nineteen, are on view together for the first time. The Unconscious Patient (An Allegory of Smell), rediscovered only last year when it resurfaced at auction, highlights the installation. The tightly composed panel demonstrates that Rembrandt’s ability to create compelling narratives and convey emotions distinguished his art from the earliest moments of his career. Smell, which is also the artist’s earliest monogrammed painting, is exhibited along with The Stone Operation (An Allegory of Touch) and The Three Musicians (An Allegory of Hearing), generous loans from the Leiden Collection, New York—together with the Getty’s own significant collection of paintings from Rembrandt’s early career.
