Exhibitions

11 October 2025 till 8 March 2026

Masterful Mystery – On Rembrandt’s Enigmatic Contemporary

From 11 October 2025 till 8 March 2026, Museum De Lakenhal will present Masterful Mystery – On Rembrandt’s Enigmatic Contemporary. This exhibition brings together the most important paintings by the unknown but very talented 17th-century artist known as Master I.S. Many of these works – with their raw, almost hyperrealistic faces – will be on public display for the first time ever. They will be shown alongside the work of other Leiden masters, such as Rembrandt, Jan Lievens and Gerrit Dou.

Unknown mystery

Master I.S.’s oeuvre consists largely of so-called tronies: depictions of faces, often using models from the artist’s own surroundings. This anonymous contemporary of Rembrandt’s painted with an eye for detail and psychological depth. The artist, who signed paintings with just the letters I.S., is thought to have lived in Leiden at some point. This oeuvre shows strong parallels with the work of other Leiden masters, such as Rembrandt, Jan Lievens and Gerrit Dou.

Master I.S., Portrait of a Woman, ca. 1650
Master I.S., Portrait of a Woman, ca. 1650 Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal
Foto: Joep Jacobs
Foto: Joep Jacobs

On show for the first time

Museum De Lakenhal has joined forces with Serlachius Museums in Finland to gather Master I.S.’s most important paintings from national, international and private collections. Many of these paintings have rarely or never been seen before. The exhibition presents the most important works, including new attributions and discoveries, to be exhibited alongside works by the aforementioned contemporaries.

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Old man with fur hat, 1630
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Old man with fur hat, 1630 Tiroler Landesmuseen, Innsbruck
Master I.S., Old man with a fur hat, 1640s
Master I.S., Old man with a fur hat, 1640s Gösta Serlachius Fine Arts Foundation, Mänttä

Extensive research

Underlying the exhibition is extensive research into this master’s work and identity, led by curators Janneke van Asperen (Museum De Lakenhal) and Tomi Moisio (Serlachius Museums), in collaboration with experts from Radboud University in Nijmegen and the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam. This artist’s oeuvre, which probably comprises 25 to 30 paintings, has never been studied before. The outcomes of this research will also form the basis of the publication accompanying the exhibition.

This exhibition is on show at Serlachius Museums in Mänttä, Finland, from 12 April to 17 August 2025. From there it will travel to Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden, where it will be on display from 11 October 2025 to 8 March 2026. In Finland, the story of Master I.S. has already been described as ‘one of the great mysteries of 17th-century Dutch art’.

Master I.S., Man with a Blind Eye, 1653-1655
Master I.S., Man with a Blind Eye, 1653-1655 Private collection, courtesy of Jacques Leegenhoek and Hubert Duchemin
Master I.S., Man with a Growth on His Nose, 1645
Master I.S., Man with a Growth on His Nose, 1645 Nationalmuseum, Stockholm

Activities

Voor families

Rond deze tentoonstelling is van alles te doen. Voor families zijn er bijvoorbeeld rondleidingen en kindercolleges. Schets een tronie in het Open Atelier of teken petten en hoeden in een speciale tekenopdracht. Bekijk alle activiteiten.

Lakenhal Laat, College op Zondag en meer

Verschillende edities van Lakenhal Laat en College op Zondag staan in het teken van de tentoonstelling. Of laat je rondleiden door een van onze rondleiders. Bekijk alle speciale activiteiten in het overzicht.

Foto: Taco van der Eb

Audiotour

In de bijbehorende audiotour neemt actrice Anna Drijver je mee op ontdekkingstocht door de tentoonstelling. Samen bestudeer je (kunst)historische aanwijzingen in de schilderijen. Kijk met aandacht en ga zelf op zoek naar antwoorden. Kom jij erachter wie Meester I.S. is? Je beluistert de audiotour via de gratis te downloaden Lakenhal-app.

Publication

The exhibition will be accompanied by the book Master I.S. - Enigmatic Contemporary of Rembrandt. This book is the first published study of Master I.S. The book is edited by Janneke van Asperen (Curator Museum De Lakenhal) and Tomi Moisio (Curator Serlachius Museums). Also featuring an essay by Volker Manuth and Marieke de Winkel, who have been researching Master I.S. for many years. The book will be on sale in the museum store starting 11 October 2025 for €29,50. The book will be published in English.

In de media


☆☆☆☆
'Meester I.S., wie hij ook was, heeft drie of vier kopstudies gemaakt die tot de mooiste portretten in de zeventiende-eeuwse Nederlandse kunst behoren.'

  • NRC

☆☆☆☆
‘Het meest tot de verbeelding spreken de oudere mensen die I.S. als zogenaamde ‘tronies’ vastlegde in zijn schilderijen – […] amper te onderscheiden van de bekende Nederlandse schilders.’

  • Trouw

'[De schilderijen] stralen een naar binnen gekeerde bedruktheid uit die makkelijk onder je huid kruipt.'

  • De Volkskrant

'Wie was de maker van dit verbluffende staaltje realisme?'

  • Museumtijdschrift

‘Een van de grootste raadsels uit de schilderkunst van de Nederlandse 17de eeuw.’

  • Collect

‘De gezichten van I.S. zijn het meest krachtige deel en het hart van het oeuvre.’

  • See All This

‘De schilderijtjes […] zijn perfect uitgelicht. Daardoor stap je als bezoeker bijna als vanzelf naar voren om de kunstwerken goed te bekijken.’

  • Leidsch Dagblad
Master I.S., Portrait of an Old Woman, 1651
Master I.S., Portrait of an Old Woman, 1651 Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wenen




Thanks

The exhibition Masterful Mystery - On Rembrandt's enigmatic contemporary is made possible with the support of the City of Leiden, Mondriaan Fonds, Turing Foundation, Blockbuster Fund, the Culture Fund, the Lucas van Leyden Patronage, Zabawas Foundation, DutchCulture and by the Dutch government: an indemnity grant has been provided by the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands on behalf of the Minister of Education, Culture and Science.