Rembrandt's 'Let The Little Children Come Unto Me' to Be Auctioned at Sotheby's

A long-forgotten Rembrandt painting, 'Let The Little Children Come Unto Me' (1627), will be auctioned at Sotheby's Old Masters sale in London on July 1, with an estimate of £8-12 million ($10.6-15.9 million). The work was rediscovered in the late 2010s after being obscured by overpainting and misattributed as 'Dutch School, mid-17th century' when acquired in Cologne in 2014 for €1.5 million. Restoration over the past decade revealed Rembrandt's original hand, including a self-portrait of the artist at age 20, his parents, god-sister, and godparents. The painting is notable as Rembrandt's only known unfinished work, abandoned three-quarters complete and finished by another painter 5-20 years later. It also features a turbaned figure originally symbolizing religious tolerance, later painted over with a Dutch cap. The work reflects Rembrandt's stance on toleration amid the Thirty Years War and Calvinist predestination debates. Christopher Brown included it in the 'Young Rembrandt' exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in 2020.