REMBRANDT HARMENSZ. VAN RIJN (1606-1669)
REMBRANDT HARMENSZ. VAN RIJN (1606-1669)

Sheet of Studies with the Head of the Artist, a Beggar Man, Woman and Child

Details
REMBRANDT HARMENSZ. VAN RIJN (1606-1669)
Sheet of Studies with the Head of the Artist, a Beggar Man, Woman and Child
etching and engraving
1651
on laid paper, watermark Foolscap with five-pointed Collar (Hinterding K.e.a.)
a very fine, strong and clear impression of this very rare portrait
printing with a light, even plate tone, the plate impurities showing strongly
trimmed on or just inside the platemark
in good condition
Sheet 110 x 91 mm.
Provenance
Johann Carl Dietrich Hebich (1818-1891), Hamburg (Lugt 1250); his sale, H. G. Gutekunst, Stuttgart, 15 November 1880 (and following days), lot 403 ('Vorzüglicher Abdruck, äusserst selten') (Mk. 225; to Sträter).
Dr August Sträter (1810-1897), Aachen, Germany (without mark, see Lugt 787).
With The Fine Arts Society, London or Edinburgh (according to Nowell-Usticke's catalogue).
Captain Gordon W. Nowell-Usticke (1894-1978), Christiansted, St. Croix, Virgin Islands (without mark and not in Lugt); his sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 31 October - 1 November 1967, lot 40 ($ 1,000).
Eric Kaufman, New York (without mark and not in Lugt).
Sotheby's, New York, 14 November 1981, lot 880 ($18,700; to Josefowitz).
Sam Josefowitz (Lugt 6094); acquired at the above sale; then by descent to the present owners.
Literature
Bartsch, Hollstein 370; Hind 230; New Hollstein 261 (this impression cited)
Stogdon 144
Exhibited
The Grolier Club, New York, Catalogue of Etchings and Dry Points by Rembrandt selected for Exhibition at the Grolier Club of the City of New York, New York, April-May 1900, cat. no. 186.

Brought to you by

Tim Schmelcher
Tim Schmelcher International Specialist

Lot Essay

The last of Rembrandt’s etched sheets of studies and the rarest, this plate features a self-portrait in the centre, surrounded by two vignettes, of a beggar with his hands cupped asking for alms at the left and, at a 90 degree turn to the right, a beggar woman accompanied by a child in the lower half of the plate. The self-portrait bears a strong resemblance to Self-portrait etching by a Window, 1648 (NH 240), with the artist’s fuller, middle-aged features and determined expression, though less formal and lacking the hat. The figures of the beggar woman and child, and to a lesser extent that of the man, are reminiscent of the family group in A blind Hurdy-Gurdy Player and Family receiving Alms, 1648 (NH 243). The plate is signed and dated 'RL 1651' below these figures, however, as Rembrandt replaced his monogram with his full signature in the 1630’s, some early scholars suggested that the date actually read 1631, and that it was in fact a portrait of Rembrandt’s father or brother. More recent watermark research, however, supports the dating of the plate to circa 1648, which is consistent with the stylistic parallels to Self-portrait etching by a Window and A blind Hurdy-Gurdy Player and Family receiving Alms. This leaves the anachronistic monogram and date of 1651 something of a mystery.

More from The Sam Josefowitz Collection: Graphic Masterpieces by Rembrandt van Rijn

View All
View All