[2][3][4] The painting was listed in 1727 in the catalog of the Duke of Orléans collection, as a portrait of an Amsterdam mayor by Rembrandt.

It remained in the noble family's possession until 1792, when Duke Louis-Philippe-Joseph sold the entire collection to finance his political career and pay off debts.

[1] In the dim brown background, with only a few, barely visible books on a table, the preacher seems to take up an imposing but nonostentatious volume.

Rather than showing his wisdom, his long white beard enhances the friendliness of his appearance, especially to the modern viewer.

[1][5] In the eighteenth century, the canvas was located in the Palais Royal in Paris, where the art collection of the Duke of Orléans, brother of Louis XIV, was kept.

The painting remained in the family's possession until 1792, when Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans sold the entire art collection to finance his political career and to pay off his debts.

Curator Jeroen Giltaij wrote that indeed little of Rembrandt's strength was visible in the painting, and that the beard was rather sketchy.

This layer prevented spectators from appreciating the nuances in the preacher's pink skin tones and black clothes.

After the restoration, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp invited Rembrandt expert Ernst van de Wetering to study and assess the painting.

After confirmation by Van de Wetering, the KMSKA decided that the work was to be given a permanent spot in the museum's collection upon the reopening of the former.