Pallas Athena (Rembrandt)

Pallas Athena is a c. 1657 oil-on-canvas painting by Rembrandt.

The subject is thought to be the Greek goddess Pallas Athena, although there are various theories, such as Alexander the Great, and no consensus has been reached. It is known to have been owned by Empress Catherine the Great of Russia and Armenian businessman Calouste Gulbenkian. It is currently housed in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon.

A print of Pallas Athene in the 1659 parade for the marriage of Countess Henriette Catherine of Nassau to John George II of Anhalt-Dessau is similar in pose and costume to this painting. The goddess was played by the artist's son Titus van Rijn, which has led to the theory that he based it on Titus' appearance in the parade. Catherine II of Russia bought the painting from count Baudouin in Paris in 1781 via Melchior Grimm. She then gave it to her lover Alexander Lanskoy and it was later transferred to the Hermitage Museum. On 27 June 1930 it was bought by its present owner via Antikvariat, an art dealer.

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