Jan Lutma, goldsmith
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The silversmith Johannes Lutma was a well-kown figure in Amsterdam society. He befriended many artists, including Rembrandt, who captured his likeness in this etching. The Frisian painter, who may or may not have been a pupil of Rembrandt, had painted a portrait of Lutma a few years earlier as well. In both portraits, Lutma is portrayed with the tools of his trade: hammer and chisels; and examples of the works he created. In Rembrandt's portrait etching, Lutma is holding a candlestick and on the table to his right, a small oval dish in the Auricular Style can be discerned.
Drawings and Prints
An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.