(Dutch master, before 1633–1658)
Portrait of an old woman in a fur-trimmed garment, Oil on canvas laid down on board, 56 x 41 cm, framed,

We are grateful to Dr. Ronny Baer, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, for identifying the artist (private communication of 14 July 2010). The Monogrammist IS is one of the most enigmatic and significant Rembrandt followers, whose identity is yet to be discovered. In the early 20th Century, Th. von Frimmel was the first to assemble a small group of paintings, which he published under the abbreviation IS, according to the monogram with which some of these works are signed (“Vom Monogrammisten IS”, in: Blätter für Gemäldekunde, I, 1904, pp. 132/33). This master’s oeuvre comprises almost exclusively of bust-length figures of old men and women rendered with impressive virtuosity (compare. Old Woman with Turban in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna). Occasionally, the Monogrammist IS placed his protagonists in interiors featuring genre or still-life elements (compare the painting sold at Sotheby’s in London, 26 April 2001, lot 48). Our painting, which has previously been given to Gerard Dou and his circle, is an important addition to the oeuvre of this artist.