Thomas Haringh (‘Old Haring’), Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1655
The inevitable finally occurred in 1656: Rembrandt went bankrupt. The result was a forced sale of his possessions. Such auctions fell within the purview of the ‘concierge’ of the Town Hall, Thomas Jacobsz Haringh, a great-uncle of Pieter Haringh. Like the etching of Pieter Haringh, this portrait of the elder Haringh is executed in drypoint, and here, too, the light illuminates his head and hands.