Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art

About this Work

This print—among Rembrandt’s first official portraits—records one of his most famous and controversial sitters. As a founder of the Remonstrant movement of the Reformed Church, which criticized Prince Maurice and the orthodox Calvinists, Rev. Uytenbogaert was forced to flee Holland in 1618. Rembrandt’s print, produced after the preacher’s return in 1626, features the name of the sitter and a short poem by Hugo Grotius beneath the image.

Portrait prints of Remonstrant leaders were considered dangerous propaganda, with their sales banned and the plates confiscated. However, by the time this print was issued, the fervor had begun to diminish, with Remonstrantism gaining wider acceptance.