Today's Edition
A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)
A rare work by Dutch master Rembrandt will be on display at the St Regis Saadiyat Island as part of Abu Dhabi Collectors Week from December 2–6, before heading to New York for auction in February 2026, Sotheby’s announced.
The drawing, titled “Young Lion Resting”, is estimated to fetch between $15 million and $20 million. It was previously exhibited at the Louvre in Paris in 2017 and later at Louvre Abu Dhabi in 2019, where it drew wide acclaim for its lifelike energy and psychological depth.
The organisers told Aletihad that details about visitor entry and exhibition timings will be announced closer to the event.
In a statement, Gregory Rubinstein, Sotheby’s Head of Old Master Drawings, described the work as “a masterpiece of draughtsmanship.” He said, “What is most remarkable about Young Lion Resting is the way Rembrandt combines sheer technical mastery with an ability seemingly to see into the very soul of this noble creature. Drawn from life with extraordinary energy and movement, it is a work of breathtaking skill.”
The charcoal-and-bistre ink drawing, believed to have been executed when Rembrandt was in his early thirties, depicts a lion in quiet repose — its left paw sketched twice to suggest movement, its gaze steady and commanding. The artist’s ability to convey vitality and emotion through minimal strokes makes it one of the most intimate animal studies of the Dutch Golden Age.
It is the only animal study by Rembrandt still in private hands, with five others belonging to the British Museum, the Louvre, Rotterdam’s Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum, and Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum.
The rare work is being sold to benefit Panthera, the world’s leading wild cat conservation charity. The piece, on loan from The Leiden Collection, is regarded by Sotheby’s as the most important Rembrandt drawing to appear at auction in half a century.
Dr Thomas S. Kaplan, founder of both Panthera and The Leiden Collection, said the decision to sell the work was deeply personal: “Wildlife conservation is the one passion I have which surpasses Rembrandt — and I want to attract more people to that cause. Allowing this magnificent drawing, which our family has loved for many years, to go to its next home in service to Panthera ensures that its impact will extend beyond art into preservation.”
Following its stop in Abu Dhabi, “Young Lion Resting" will travel to Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia before being auctioned during Sotheby’s Masters Week in New York in February.
