The Getty Museum at the J. Paul Getty Trust

The Promise of Youth: Rembrandt's Senses Rediscovered

Until 2015 when it was discovered at auction, the whereabouts of one of Rembrandt’s earliest paintings, The Unconscious Patient (Allegory of Smell), was unknown. Now reunited with two other paintings from his series on the five senses, The Unconscious Patient (Allegory of Smell) joins The Stone Operation (An Allegory of Touch) and The Three Musicians (An Allegory of Hearing), on public view for the first time in centuries.

The Unconscious Patient (Allegory of Smell), about 1624-25, Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, oil on panel. Image courtesy of the Leiden Collection, New York

The Senses series was probably painted by the celebrated Dutch 17th century artist in 1624–25, when he was just 18 or 19 years old. The paintings attest to the artist’s innovative approach to his subjects, interest in psychological tension, and expressive brushwork—all later hallmarks of his art. The three paintings here are on loan from the Leiden Collection, New York, and are presented in the context of the Museum’s collection of paintings from Rembrandt’s early career.

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