Thomas Kaplan’s 18th Rembrandt: buyer of “Saint John on Patmos” revealed in $9 million deal

The Leiden Collection of American billionaire Thomas Kaplan announced on Monday, according to CODART and The Art Newspaper, the acquisition of Rembrandt van Rijn’s painting “Saint John on Patmos” (c. 1661). The news reveals it as the mystery buyer that paid $9 million (£6.75 million) at Sotheby’s auction in London last December.

The meditative painting shows the evangelist John in his exile on the island of Patmos, after receiving the revelation — a late work by the artist. It had been out of the public eye for more than a century; scholars knew it mainly from a 1920s photograph that misidentified the subject as Titus, Rembrandt’s son. Technical examination and restoration before the 2025 auction revealed a palm tree in the background — indicating Patmos — and an eagle, the symbol of Saint John, confirming the religious subject. Specialists such as Dr. Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., senior advisor to the Leiden Collection, accept the attribution of the work to Rembrandt. According to experts, Rembrandt likely used his son Titus as the model for Saint John, blending religious meaning with a personal expression of the father-son bond.

The work’s provenance is dramatic: traced back to 1760, when it was sold with the collection of Gerard Hoet II in The Hague, it passed to Leipzig in the Winckler collection, then into private hands in London and New York. In the early 20th century it was misattributed to Rembrandt’s pupil Carel Fabritius, until Metropolitan Museum curator Wilhelm Valentiner recognized it as an authentic Rembrandt in 1913. The painting was seized by the Nazi regime in 1940 and returned to the Thyssen family in 1950, where it remained until the 2025 sale.

With this acquisition, the Leiden Collection becomes the largest private holder of Rembrandt works in the world, with eighteen paintings. Kaplan said the work “significantly strengthens the all-encompassing narrative that the Leiden Collection follows.” The painting will travel on the collection’s world tour, with a European exhibition planned for autumn 2027.