Attributed to Gerrit Lundens

In the Rijksmuseum, a small copy of Rembrandt's Night Watch hangs under the name of Gerrit Lundens, with the words attributed to in front of it. The museum is sure enough to file the panel under him, and careful enough to keep that qualifier on the label. This entry stands for the qualifier.

Lundens himself is well documented. He was baptised in Amsterdam in 1622, a grandson of the engraver Christoffel van Sichem, and worked in the city all his life. He painted small scenes of peasants and taverns, about a dozen wedding feasts, portraits, and a few unusual subjects, among them surgeons at work and the fire that destroyed the old town hall. He also kept an inn and traded in wine, a business that collapsed in 1671. His last dated painting is from 1675.