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researchdiscovery

Hermitage Research Reveals Hidden Drost Composition; Christie's Drawing Discovered

A comprehensive research session across CODART conference papers, Christie's auction archives, and museum publications yielded several major discoveries: a hidden painting beneath Drost's "Youth with an Earring" at the Hermitage, a newly attributed drawing sold at Christie's in 2023, and the confirmation that Bikker's catalog includes 38 undisputed works — more than the 26 often cited.

  • Youth with an Earring (Hermitage, cat. 36 Bikker): X-ray analysis reveals a completely different composition beneath: a young woman in semi-profile with flowers in her hair, confirming Drost's practice of reusing canvases. Previously attributed to Pietro Novelli before Sumowski correctly identified it as Drost in 1990
  • The Dismissal of Hagar and Ishmael: A pen and brown ink drawing (14.5 × 12.5 cm) attributed to Drost by Peter Schatborn and Martin Royalton-Kisch, sold at Christie's Paris in February 2023 (lot 39). Provenance traces to Herman de Kat (1784–1865) and the De Clercq family. Previously catalogued as Rembrandt
  • Bikker's monograph (2005/2006): Catalogs 38 undisputed paintings by Drost, not 26 as commonly cited. Only 38 paintings are considered undisputed works by Drost according to Irina Sokolova of the Hermitage (CODART paper, 2023)
  • Timothy and Lois dimensions corrected to 117 × 89 cm per Hermitage records (was 116 × 92 cm). For two centuries this was considered one of the Hermitage's best Rembrandts until Falck proposed Drost's authorship in 1924
  • Drost drawings confirmed in three museum collections: Kunsthalle Bremen (inv. 54/437), Kupferstichkabinett Berlin (KdZ 1120), and Pierpont Morgan Library, New York (I,195)
  • Rembrandt/Not Rembrandt exhibition catalog (Met, 1995): Full 71 MB PDF available free from MetPublications, documenting the exact paintings, drawings, and etchings by Drost in the Met's collection and the connoisseurship methodology used to distinguish master from pupil
  • askART lists 14 verified auction results for Drost with prices up to $4,625,000 (likely the Leiden Collection acquisition)
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