Willem Drost (1633-1659)

• Was a Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker of history paintings and portraits.
• He is a mysterious figure, closely associated with Rembrandt.
• He was presumably born in Amsterdam.
• Around 1650, according to the early art historian Houbraken, he became a student of Rembrandt, eventually developing a close working relationship.
• As a student, his 1654 painting titled Bathsheba was inspired by Rembrandt's painting done in the same year on the same subject and given the same title.
• He was in Amsterdam until 1655 and then travelled to Italy.
• He became friends with Johann Carl Loth and painter Joan vander Meer.
• He influenced the painter Adolf Boy. 
• He died in the latter city in 1659.
• Willem Drost's recognized lifetime output of artwork is very small, while Rembrandt is credited with more than 2,000 paintings and etchings, the majority of which are not signed.
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