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This site is a ‘work-in-progress’ catalogue of all the known drawings by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669). It is currently arranged in the order of the last full catalogue by Otto Benesch, The Drawings of Rembrandt (2nd edition, enlarged and edited by Eva Benesch, 6 vols, London and New York, 1973). The aim is to comment, eventually, on all the drawings that Benesch catalogued as autograph, as well as on any other authentic (or pehaps authentic) drawings that he did not include or doubted. Once completed, the intention is to publish a new catalogue raisonné in book form, with a new numbering.

Benesch’s volumes 1 and 2 (Benesch nos.1-476) and much of volume 3 are now complete in draught form, more than 600 drawings (because he added extra ‘a’ and ‘b’ numbers) out of approximately 1,450 in his catalogue; catalogue entries, mostly short drafts, are also included on a further 79 drawings that were either unknown to Benesch or rejected by him (see under the ‘Not in Benesch’ tab). Some texts, especially under the Not in Benesch tab, are still rather basic drafts and in every part of the catalogue much academic literature still needs to be checked; the opinions expressed are generally up-to-date, though subject to further research that might change them. The text has not yet been professionally edited (please use the ‘Contact’ tab to send improvements).

The site is best viewed on PCs and laptops rather than tablets and phones, which occasionally display illustrations and captions in the wrong order for reasons I cannot fathom….beware!

For more details about the project, please click the ‘About’ tab.

For the catalogue itself, please click ‘Catalogue’ and choose the numbers you require.

Please note the Disclaimer below. This is a not-for-profit resource. All the opinions expressed are the compiler’s own and offered freely and without prejudice. I do not accept payment for opinions, as to do so might be perceived as undermining any validity they may have.

Martin Royalton-Kisch

Anyone is welcome to quote from this site. Please acknowledge by writing: ‘See rembrandtcatalogue.net, Benesch [number], [date of catalogue entry] (accessed [date])’.
For example: See rembrandtcatalogue.net, Benesch 152, 2 June 2013 (accessed 12 March 2018). For those compiling lists of literature on an individual object, the date posted (in this case 2 June 2013) should be used as the date of publication. In bibliographies the website can be listed under author with the start date: “2012- (in progress)”.
All text on this site is copyright © of the author.