The RembrandtOpen Impression Project

RQ-07 · Open

Does the verso carry collector marks, dealer codes or inscriptions?

DifficultylowOpened2026-08-12Updated2026-08-12Contained enough for a student project

Why it matters

The back of a print is where its ownership history is usually written: collectors' stamps, dealers' stock numbers, pencil annotations, mount and hinge remnants. This is the most likely single route into the 385-year gap in the provenance. The Rijksmuseum's impression carries two identified collector marks; there is no reason in principle this sheet could not carry one.

What the record currently holds

None. The verso has not been photographed or described. The working record is silent on it, which is not the same as recording that it is blank.

  • 1Physical observationNo conservator examination has taken place · 2026-08-12

Hypotheses

Rendered distinctly from findings on purpose. None of these is in the canonical record, and none will be written there automatically.
  • The verso is blank.

    Possible

    Common enough. Would be a genuine negative finding and would be recorded as one.

Method

  1. 01Verso photography under the same documentation discipline as the recto.
  2. 02Any mark found is compared against the standard reference for collectors' marks and cited by its Lugt number.
  3. 03Pencil inscriptions are transcribed exactly, including anything illegible, marked as such.

What would resolve it

A verso photograph, plus identification of any mark against the standard reference.

Where to look

If you can answer this

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