Art dealer and art historian Jan Six recently revealed that he had discovered and bought a new Rembrandt.
The painting had been in the hands of a noble British family for many years, who had no idea of its value. When it came up for auction in London as one of the works ‘considered less important’, Six immediately recognized it as a Rembrandt. Not unimportant: Jan Six is a young descendant of Jan Six, who was portrayed by Rembrandt in 1654, and specialized entirely in Rembrandt’s work. Six’s opinion is currently shared by several art historians and specialists, including the well-known Rembrandt expert Ernst van de Wetering.
A real Rembrandt or not, the price Six bought her for will double many times over. “What is reality?”, you may ask. If the majority of reputable connoisseurs say that a work is by a certain artist, is this so? Who then decides who is a renowned connoisseur? Why has the auction house in question not seen that it is a Rembrandt? It is an interesting fact: reality in art sometimes seems to be a relative concept. In this case, it is about the authenticity of a work, but the subject that is depicted can also relate to reality in various ways. It is interesting to distinguish between figurative and abstract art.
For Willem Boronski, reality does not mean a figuratively represented reality. His work went through a remarkable development from figurative still lifes to expressive, abstract works. With his abstract art, Boronski tries to encourage the viewer to discover his own reality. According to Boronski, reality is not the same for everyone. Reality cannot be put into words and has little to do with a scale of apples or pears depicted as accurately as possible. For Willem Boronski it is precisely about the experience, the relationship between the viewer and the work of art. Take, for example, the work “The Joker to the Thief.” The dark central area contrasts with the light areas painted around it. The abstract surfaces are perfectly balanced, but do not give any suggestion of a figurative subject.
An answer to the question: “What is reality?” is not easy to give. In the case of the Rembrandt, it is about authenticity and research techniques are used to substantiate the answer. For Boronski, depicting a reality in art means encouraging the viewer to look unprejudiced. Without a preconceived idea of what is depicted. Only in this way can you create your own reality. Watch ‘The Joker to the Thief’ and experience it for yourself