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From the Mists. Magdeleine Hours, director of the Louvre's outstanding scientific laboratory, argues that Rembrandt's "handwriting" may be superior to that of some of his followers only because it is better known. It is her hope that more exhaustive study of the dubious Rembrandts will serve to identify fully the other painters in his circle, who may thus emerge as memorable artists on their own. The genius of Georges de La Tour, she points out, was overlooked by scholars for centuries simply because most of his finest paintings were attributed to Caravaggio, Velasquez or other artists.
Though reattribution of a painting from Rembrandt to his pupil Carel Fabritius or Jan Lievens may knock thousands of dollars from its current market value, the loss is only a paper one. The picture itself is no less beautiful. Indeed, as the name of its creator emerges from the mists in which history has shrouded it, his painting's value may even appreciate faster than that of a known Rembrandt.
Rather than haggling endlessly over the fine points of attribution, some museum directors are now trusting their own judgment, taste and intuition. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, for instance, recently purchased, as its 22nd Rembrandt, a Holy Family from a private English collection; the painting is challenged by Rembrandt Experts Bauch and Gerson. Snaps Rijksmuseum Director Dr. A. Van Schendel: "We disagree—it does not matter. A good painting is a good painting."
*Rembrandt is not the only artist up for reattribution. The Worcester Art Museum, of Worcester, Mass., engaged in re-evaluating its collection, said last week that it expects to relabel about one-fourth of its 321 European paintings, including ones formerly attributed to Turner, Constable and Courbet.