The copperplate may originally have been in the hands of the sitter or his family. It was later acquired by an anonymous owner, who added two dots in the upper right corner. It then appeared in the sale by Pieter de Haan (1767, lot 65) and was sold for Fl 10,00 via Fouquet to Claude-Henri Watelet (1718-1786). It then became part of the set of plates subsequently owned and used for printing Recueils by Pierre-François Basan (1723-1797), Henri-Louis Basan (his nr 1436), Auguste Jean (ca 1809), Veuve Jean, Auguste and Michel Bernard (1846) and Robert Lee Humber (1937). It was sold at the Artemis sale in London (1993) and is now in a private collection in the USA.

Francen was a close friend of Rembrandt, even in times of financial hardship. Several times he acted as a witness for him. He served as guardian of Cornelia, the daughter of Rembrandt and Hendrickje Stoffels.
Francen was an avid collector of prints and as such probably also a customer of Rembrandt. It is likely that the ledger on the desk is a folder in which works on paper are stored. The sheet Francen is studying probably comes out of this folder.
The first to identify the sitter as Francen was Florent le Comte around 1700.

It is not clear if the portrait was commissioned (maybe even in an effort to help Rembrandt financially) or if it was made as a gesture to a loyal friend. As in his portrait of Jan Six, made ten years earlier, Rembrandt paid a lot of attention to the room in which the sitter was portrayed. The triptych and two paintings to the wall may refer to his role as a collector of art, the objects on the table, a small Buddha-like statue, a skull and a pot, refer to his profession.
This etching is the only portrait in a horizontal format.

There is a study in Munich (HdG 416) which shows the general position of the sitter (in reverse) with the leg in the same position as in the 1^st state of the etching. But the face is different. Jan Six has suggested that this is a portrait of Otto van Cattenburgh, of whom Rembrandt agreed in 1655 to make a portrait to the likeliness of the portrait of Six of 1647 for 400 guilders. But this agreement was part of the purchase of a house in the Handboogstraat, which was never consummated. Apparently, the portrait was never made.

NH lists three copies in reverse. Copy A is by Claude Henri Watelet with the portrait of M. L’Abbé Copette Bortaro (two states, 141 x 204 mm, WB 2). Copy B is anonymous (156 x 208 mm, WB 1). Copy C is by John Burnett (79 x 99 mm).

The etching is considered as special by Bartsch, De Claussin and Wilson.
The plate was made by a pupil according to Middleton and Seidlitz.
The plate is not by Rembrandt according to Rovinsky and Singer.

NH lists twelve states, the final five not by Rembrandt. The 8^th state (two dots) is ‘new’. Most other authors list ten states, Hind nine, Münz three. Nowell-Usticke lists three trial proofs and nine states, from his 4^th state there are later impressions by Watelet, P. Basan, Basan, Jean, Bernard and Beaumont.
In the 1^st state (NH, WB, R716/NU trial proof A) the landscape in the window and the back of the seat* are missing. There is a ray of sunlight through the window, the curtain is draped over the right wing of the triptych.
In the 2^nd state (NH, WB, R718/NU trial proof B) the ray of sunlight is removed, the sitter is now seated in an armchair with a low back*. The table is extended*. There are many more alterations, probably all in drypoint.
In the 3^rd state (NH, WB, R717/NU trial proof C) a part of the curtain and the back of the chair are erased*. Further shading is added to the window opening*. WB and BB consider this a trial state.
In the 4^th state (NH, WB, R719/1^st state NU) the curtain is completely removed, but a rod is added*. A landscape of trees is visible through the window*. There is a drawing on the back of the sheet Francen is now holding with his right hand folded over the top*. The back of the chair is topped with a head of a lion*. Many other small alterations.
In the 5^th state (NH, WB, R720/2^nd state NU) the frame to the left of Francen’s head is redrawn and has a ring on the top*. There is new work on the lower part of the triptych. The figure on the back of the sheet is now the bust of a man*. A criss-cross pattern is added to the frame of the painting. The hat, the bench and the right side of the chair in the left corner are more clearly visible. Highlights are added to the hat*.
In the 6^th state (NH, WB, R721/3^rd state NU) the hair, eyes, eyebrows and moustache are heavily reworked with the drypoint, making the hair darker*. The back of the sheet is shaded, making the design invisible*. The triangle below the right arm is made lighter*.
In the 7^th state (NH, WB/4^th state NU, Watelet?) the hair is retouched and some hairs on the back are removed°. The back of the sheet is completely worked over*. There is a strong left-to-right slipped stroke on the left cheekº. There is an extra vertical shadow just left of the window (JM)*.
In the 8^th state (NH only) two dots are added in the upper right corner of the windowº.
In the 9^th state (NH/8^th state WB/5^th state NU) much of the shading on the wall seems to be burnished out, especially above the sitter’s head*.  The hat is now clearly visible (some whites added)*. There is some horizontal and vertical shading in the triangular space below the right arm°.
In the 10^th state (NH/9^th state WB, R722-723/6^th state NU,) the plate is heavily reworked with the graver, like on the wall above the sitter, on all three paintings, the statuette, the edges of the book and in many other places*. The light band below the window is shaded over*. The triangle under the right arm is again shaded (JM)*. The light on the hat are gone (JM)*.The slipped stroke is still visibleº.
In the 11^th state (NH/10^th state WB final, R724/7^th state NU P. Basan, H. Basan) horizontal shading is added to the upper part of the trees*. Rework with burin lines is visible in most shadowy areas, like the wall around the painting, the painting and frame itself, the globe, the skull and the right part of the tablecloth.
In the 12^th state (NH/8^th state NU Jean) the facial expression is altered, the eyes are now wide open*. Crosshatching on the left cheek makes the slipped stroke invisibleº.
Watelet stated in his catalogue of 1786 that he was responsible for some rework. Watermark research indicates that this rework was from the 10^th state (NH/7^th state NU) and not from the 9^th state (NH/5^th state NU) as Nowell-Usticke suggested.

All impressions of the first four states are on Japanese paper, many with plate tone. Of the 1^st state and the 3^rd state only two impressions each are known.
There is an impression of the 4^th state on vellum (in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge).
An impression of the 7^th state formerly in the collection of Viscount Downe has a 17^th century inscription conterf der heere Abram Franse doctor Inde medesynen (Portrait of Abraham Francen, doctor in medicine).
Watermarks suggest that impressions of the 7^th and 9^th state (8^th state WB) are still 17^th century.
Nowell-Usticke considers the impressions in the Recueil de Basan, to be quite good.

In the 5^th state: Double-headed eagle (c. 1656-57).
In the 7^th state: Strasbourg lily.
In the 9^th state: Seven Provinces (> 1665).
In the 10^th state: Arms; Fleur-de-lis (2 ed); Strasbourg bend; Strasbourg lily; Strasbourg lily with cm GR.
In the 11^th state: Various later ones.

H 291, BB 57-2, G 253, M 172, Mz 79, RA 716-724, Cl 270, W 275, Bl 176, Du 260, CD 248, S 114.
Dickey 2004, p. 142 ff; Hinterding 2008, p. 485 ff.

NH: 11^th state of XII/WB: 10^th and final state.
A later impression on laid paper, probably from an early Basan edition. The slipped stroke on the left cheek and the horizontal shading above the trees in the window are clearly visible. The face still unchanged, indicating the 11^th state. A repaired crease in the upper left corner, visible verso, not visible recto.
Sheet 163/164 x 215/214 mm, margins of 3 to 4 mm all around (+7%).
No watermark, vertical chain lines at approx. 30 mm.

At Swann Auctions Galleries, October 2006 (lot 86), where bought by Douwes Fine Arts, as 7^th state (WB)

Rembrandt in Zwart-Wit, Westfries Museum (Hoorn), Het Markiezenhof (Bergen op Zoom), Stedelijk Museum Zutphen, Het Hannemahuis (Harlingen), Museum Gouda, Jan ten Horne Museum (Weert), Stadsmuseum Harderwijk, March 2013-August 2015;
Stedelijk Museum Vianen, October 2017 – January 2018;
Rembrandt in Black & White: Schloβ Britz (Berlin), Bozar Expo (Brussels), Chateau de Penthes (Geneva), November 2015-October 2016;
Rembrandt, fotograaf avant-la-lettre, Museum De Reede (Antwerp), January – May 2023;
Rembrandt, 17^th century photographer, Daegu Art Museum (Korea), November 2023 – March 2024;
Rembrandt, de fotograaf, Westfries Museum (Hoorn), June 2024 – January 2025;