sale of The Adoration of the Kings by Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn from 1628—a painting that had sold at Christie’s in an online auction two years earlier for only €860,000 (about US$927,000).

But, though he is a Dutchman living in the 1640s, Rembrandt is wearing the clothes of a gentleman of the 1520s and his pose is based on paintings by Dürer, Titian and Raphael from a similar date. So, ...

This small black and white painting (known as a grisaille) was not made for sale. It is a full-scale preparatory study for one of Rembrandt’s etchings – the only known example of such a work.