(Leyden 1613–1645 Amsterdam)
A woman in Oriental dress with a veil,
oil on panel, 35 x 27 cm, framed

Provenance:
Belgian private collection.

We are grateful to Professor Ernst van de Wetering, who has confirmed the painting to be an authentic work by Joudreville on the basis of a photograph. Isaac de Joudreville and Gerrit Dou were some of the earliest pupils of Rembrandt. Ernst van de Wetering, who wrote an article on him in 1983 (E. van de Wetering, ‘Isaac de Joudreville, A Pupil of Rembrandt’, in: exh. cat., “The Impact of a Genius”, Rembrandt, his pupils and his followers in the 17th Century, Amsterdam 1983, pp. 59–69), assumes that Rembrandt held him in such high regard that he employed him as an assistant on commissions to paint tronies, portraits and other large jobs. This makes it likely that his independent works produced in the workshop were also overseen by Rembrandt. Joudreville had joined Rembrandt’s workshop in 1629. When he was orphaned in 1630, Rembrandt had to send invoices for his apprenticeship fee to his guardian. They have been preserved in the City Archive in Leyden. Joudreville evidently accompanied Rembrandt to Amsterdam. There he would execute a large number of Rembrantesque tronies, amongst which was the present painting. The influence of his master is apparent here, too, and the Rembrandt expert, van de Wetering has been able to identify the picture as an early work by Joudreville. It has not yet been possible to attribute to him any of his later works, as documented in the sources, which bear testimony to the artist as a history, genre and portrait painter. It is probable that many of Joudreville’s works are to be found within the oeuvres of Rembrandt or Gerrit Dou.