It has been confirmed that Govert Flinck painted a portrait of Saskia Uylenburgh, originally believed to be by Rembrandt, in the Fries Museum. Intensive examination of the painting by several experts has confirmed this. Last Tuesday, they compared the canvas with other works by Govert Flinck in the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam. Saskia Uylenburgh was born in Friesland and married Rembrandt van Rijn. For a long time it was assumed that the portrait was by him, but since 1968 it has been clear that it is not a Rembrandt. Now, 50 years later, it is indisputable that it was made by Rembrandt's master pupil Govert Flinck. The painting will be on display from 24 November in the exhibition Rembrandt and Saskia: Love and Marriage in the Dutch Golden Age in the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden.
Govert Flinck completed the first part of his training as a painter in Leeuwarden with Lambert Jacobsz. As residents in the small town of Leeuwarden, Govert Flinck and Saskia knew each other. Both moved to Amsterdam in the same year (1634), Flinck to be apprenticed to Rembrandt van Rijn, Saskia as Rembrandt's wife.