Dutch Woman inherits Collection of Dozens of Rembrandt Engravings
Charlotte Meyer, inherited from her grandfather a collection of 35 original engravings by Rembrandt van Rijn, whose authorship she was unaware of for a long time.
"It’s such a beautiful story, one you can only dream about. Nobody was interested in etchings back then. They were nothing special. For just a few guilders, my grandfather bought 35 different ones," she told Omroep Gelderland. According to her accounts, after her grandfather’s death, the folder with the engravings lay untouched for years, as she perceived them simply as "beautiful prints." Only during a move did she decide to re-examine the folder’s contents and suspected the works might have significant value. Experts from the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam, who came to appraise the collection, were, as Meyer claims, "completely blown away" by what they saw.
Meyer’s grandfather collected Rembrandt’s etchings in the early 20th century, roughly between 1900 and 1920, when such works were often acquired by private collectors and art enthusiasts. Since then, the heiress has expanded the collection, which now numbers about 70 etchings by Rembrandt and his contemporaries.
Meyer’s collection will be presented to the public for the first time at the Zutphen city museum.
Main Image: Collectie Charlotte Meyer