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

Abraham caressing Isaac

Details
REMBRANDT HARMENSZ. VAN RIJN (1606-1669)
Abraham caressing Isaac
etching
circa 1637
on laid paper, watermark fragment, probably Basel Crosier
a very fine, early impression of the first state (of three)
printing very sharply, with remarkable clarity even in the finest lines and great contrasts
with a subtle plate tone and very light vertical wiping marks
with narrow margins
in very good condition
Plate 118 x 90 mm.
Sheet 122 x 92 mm.
Provenance
Unidentified, Dutch inscription in pencil verso (not in Lugt).
Unidentified, paraphe in brown ink verso (not in Lugt).
With Paul Prouté, Paris.
Sam Josefowitz (Lugt 6094); acquired from the above in 1972; then by descent to the present owners.
Literature
Bartsch, Hollstein 33; Hind 148; New Hollstein 165 (this impression cited)
Stogdon 5

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Tim Schmelcher
Tim Schmelcher International Specialist

Lot Essay

This is a very fine, early impression of this small, carefully and subtly etched plate, printing with a light plate tone. As Nicholas Stogdon pointed out, ‘The biting of this plate produces a range of tones, from a crisp black at left to a delicate silverpoint at right, so the transitional area concentrated on the child’s head has to be successful, as it is here.’ (Stogdon, no. 5, p. 10)
Whether Rembrandt intended to depict Abraham and Isaac or Jacob and Benjamin is uncertain and seems impossible to determine (see Ackley, Rembrandt’s Journey, no. 64, p. 131). Whatever the true subject of the print, it is a delightful and very tender depiction of the elderly father cuddling his young son, whose face is beaming with joy. The fact that the father looks away towards the viewer emphasises the physical bond between the two, as he cups the child’s chin in one hand and buries the other in his locks. The scene is full of life and beautifully observed detail, such as the son standing with one foot placed on top of the other, in the way little boys do.
The depiction of the child seems to be based on a child Rembrandt knew and used to sketch on several occasions, for example in the drawing of a Woman with a Child descending a Staircase.

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