Description
Portrait of Jan Six is Rembrandt’s portrait of his friend from 1654: the Amsterdam merchant and poet, in a grey coat with yellow buttons, a red gold-trimmed cloak over his shoulder and a broad black hat, pulls on a glove as if about to leave the house. The original, oil on canvas, is 112 cm high and 102 cm wide and is still kept by Six’s descendants in a private collection in Amsterdam. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas in 8 portrait sizes, from 43 x 47 to 190 x 200 cm, or to your own measurement, and show it to you in a photograph before dispatch.
| Title: | Portrait of Jan Six |
| Other titles: | Portret van Jan Six · Jan Six |
| Painter: | Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669) |
| Year painted: | 1654, Amsterdam |
| Original size: | 112 cm x 102 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Baroque, Dutch Golden Age |
| Located at: | Six Collection (Collectie Six, private collection), Amsterdam |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Portrait of Jan Six – Rembrandt
What does the Portrait of Jan Six show?
Jan Six stands almost square-on, head tilted slightly, looking straight out of the picture. On his long reddish hair he wears a large black hat; he is dressed in a light grey coat with yellow buttons, and over his left shoulder hangs a short bright red cloak with gold lace.
With his right hand, which holds one glove, he draws the other onto his left hand. The background is dark grey, and the light falls from the upper left across the whole figure.
Who was Jan Six?
Jan Six (1618–1700) was a wealthy Amsterdam merchant from a family that had grown rich on silk dyeing, an art collector, a poet and later burgomaster of Amsterdam. He was Rembrandt’s friend and patron.
When Rembrandt painted him he was 36. According to Italian Wikipedia, Rembrandt had already portrayed him in an etching that shows him reading by a window.
Why is the portrait so famous?
Because many consider it Rembrandt’s finest portrait. The Dutch scholar Hofstede de Groot called it in 1915 perhaps the finest and most expressive of all, Wikipedia records.
The face is painted carefully and in several layers, while the hands, gloves and red cloak are done in a few rapid strokes that, according to Italian Wikipedia, anticipate the Impressionists. The Wikipedia article on the portrait quotes Hofstede de Groot in full.
Where is the original today?
The painting has belonged to the Six family since it was made and is still kept by Jan Six’s direct descendants in Amsterdam, in the private Six Collection. That makes it one of the few Rembrandt masterpieces never to have been in a museum.
The date 1654 is known from a couplet Six wrote himself: according to Wikipedia the capital letters in it add up to 1654.
Jan Six or another Rembrandt?
Portrait of Jan Six suits an office, a boardroom, a library or a hallway, for anyone who loves confident, warm male portraits. His female companion is the Portrait of Agatha Bas, an Amsterdam townswoman from the same circle.
For a group of Amsterdam merchants there is Syndics of the Drapers’ Guild, for the civic guard The Night Watch, and for the thoughtful collector Aristotle with a Bust of Homer. Male and female portraits and other famous Rembrandt paintings are gathered on the Rembrandt page.
How does our painter paint your Jan Six?
This Rembrandt reproduction has to capture the original’s two speeds. In oil on canvas the painter builds up the face slowly and in layers, while the hands, gloves and red cloak are painted in quick, broad strokes, as Rembrandt did.
The hardest part is keeping those strokes fresh so they do not become too smooth. An oil painting reproduction like this shows the living brushstroke that a paper print cannot.
Which size is right for your room?
In short: 43 x 47 or 50 x 55 cm for a narrow wall or a shelf, 68 x 75 or 75 x 85 cm above a desk or chest of drawers, 98 x 104 and 125 x 140 cm for a living room or office, and 145 x 160 and 190 x 200 cm for entrance halls and large walls.
There are 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 43 x 47, 50 x 55, 68 x 75, 75 x 85, 98 x 104, 125 x 140, 145 x 160 and 190 x 200 cm. The original measures 102 x 112 cm and shows Six life-size, so 98 x 104 cm is almost its size. As a painting for the living room above a sofa, 98 x 104 cm suits well.
Keep Six’s face at the eye level of someone standing, with the centre about 155 cm from the floor.
Can I choose another size or a frame?
Yes. The original is almost square, about 11 : 12; in that ratio the hat, the gloves and the red cloak all stay. Tell us the size you want for Jan Six and we will quote a price and a delivery date.
We send Jan Six rolled, on a stretcher bar or framed; our workshop in Slovenia prepares every canvas painting. You compare frames for Jan Six in the 3D application, which is only for that; seeing him on your own wall is a separate service. A black frame repeats the hat, a gold one the trim of the cloak.
When will the painting be with me?
We paint Jan Six to order and dispatch him within 15 to 45 working days; the parcel with Jan Six travels customs-free across the EU. As soon as Jan Six is painted we send you a photograph; whatever you would like different, we correct, and our returns policy applies to every order.
For a director, a mayor, a collector or a business partner who should choose the size, there is the wall art voucher.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original Portrait of Jan Six?
In the private Six Collection in Amsterdam, with Jan Six’s descendants.
What did Jan Six do?
He was a merchant, art collector, poet and later burgomaster of Amsterdam, and Rembrandt’s friend.
What is Six doing in the painting?
Pulling on a glove, as if about to leave the house.
How do we know it dates from 1654?
From a couplet by Six; the capital letters add up to 1654.
Is your Jan Six a print?
No, it is a hand-painted copy; the painter paints the face and the rapid strokes of the cloak with a brush.
How big is the original?
It is 112 cm high and 102 cm wide. We paint Jan Six in sizes from 43 x 47 to 190 x 200 cm.
Which size suits an office?
For the wall behind a desk choose 75 x 85 or 98 x 104 cm.
Who would like it as a gift?
Directors, collectors and anyone who values a confident male portrait.
- Subject: Jan Six in a grey coat, red cloak and black hat, pulling on a glove.
- Original: 1654, oil on canvas, 112 x 102 cm, Six Collection, Amsterdam.
- Ours: Jan Six painted by hand in oil on canvas, in 8 portrait sizes from 43 x 47 to 190 x 200 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: the painting has belonged to the Six family since it was made.
