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Lot Essay
‘Jesus answered and said unto her, whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life’ (John 4:13-14)
This superb, tonal impression of Christ and the Woman of Samaria: an Arched Print evokes the spiritual intensity of an episode recounted in the Gospel of Saint John, which occurs as Jesus meets a Samaritan woman drawing water at Jacob’s Well. He asks her for a drink, a taboo-breaking request given the ancient animosity between the Jews and Samaritans. In the conversation that follows Jesus reveals to her that he is the Messiah, the first time in the Gospel he explicitly makes this claim. The story ends with the woman leaving behind her bucket and returning to the town saying: ‘Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?’ (John 4:28)
Rembrandt’s approach in this, one of his last etchings, is very different from his first, more literal interpretation in Christ and the Woman of Samaria among Ruins (B. 71; New Holl. 127), created almost a quarter of a century before. This earlier print presents the central figures of Christ and the Samaritan woman full-length, with a cluster of disciples in the middle distance against a picturesque backdrop of a crumbling temple and a view of a town to the right. Christ is shown seated on the edge of the well, facing away from the viewer. The woman stands on the other side of the well, absent-mindedly holding the slack rope of the bucket which she has retrieved, engrossed by her conversation with this charismatic stranger. Despite being seated Christ’s figure is imposing, his divine authority alluded to by the nimbus-like pattern of receding arches above his head. The dramatic chiaroscuro with which his figure is modelled also gives him added significance as the central figure of the narrative.
In the present version, Christ and the Woman of Samaria: an Arched Print, Rembrandt dispenses with incidental detail to focus on a more theologically nuanced interpretation of the biblical story. The figures of Christ and the woman are brought into the foreground, now dominated by the cylindrical shape of the well. The lower half of the well is cropped and this, combined with the proximity of the figures, has the effect of drawing the viewer into the scene. Rembrandt’s characterization of Christ in this etching is especially intriguing. He is placed standing to the side of the well, facing forwards, and it is the Samaritan woman who now occupies the central position in the composition. Lowering his head to the level of the woman’s, his demeanour is one of quiet humility, almost of supplication as he presses his right hand to his chest. His gaze is directed towards the woman, but also seems to encompass the viewer, extending the invitation to listen and respond to the heart-felt confession that he is the Messiah. The woman meanwhile listens impassively, her hands folded, elbow resting on the bucket, suggesting that she at least is still to be convinced by what she is hearing. Behind her a group of disciples look on warily, their sceptical attitudes reflecting resistance to the radical inclusion being demonstrated by their master. The backdrop of buildings with a wooded, town-capped hill, are simplified and rendered with passages of parallel and cross-hatching typical of the artist’s later style. Scholars have noted the Venetian quality of the landscape, citing a painting by Giorgione recorded in the 1656 inventory of Rembrandt’s possessions, as a possible source. The painting, now attributed to Moretto da Brescia (Alessandro Bonvicino; circa 1498-1554) is today at the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo. Other similarities with this painting include the woman’s pose and the group of buildings with a rotunda in the background.
There are no differences to the image itself in the first and second states, which can be differentiated only by an unetched upper portion of the copper plate which is cut down in the second state. As the present sheet has been trimmed close to the borderline, it is not possible to confirm which state it is. Hinterding and Rutgers listed it in New Hollstein as a second state but with the qualification ‘Japanese paper, possibly a cut first state’. Either way, it is undoubtedly very early, for the printing quality and the sense of depth and atmosphere Rembrandt achieved in this impression is outstanding.
This superb, tonal impression of Christ and the Woman of Samaria: an Arched Print evokes the spiritual intensity of an episode recounted in the Gospel of Saint John, which occurs as Jesus meets a Samaritan woman drawing water at Jacob’s Well. He asks her for a drink, a taboo-breaking request given the ancient animosity between the Jews and Samaritans. In the conversation that follows Jesus reveals to her that he is the Messiah, the first time in the Gospel he explicitly makes this claim. The story ends with the woman leaving behind her bucket and returning to the town saying: ‘Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?’ (John 4:28)
Rembrandt’s approach in this, one of his last etchings, is very different from his first, more literal interpretation in Christ and the Woman of Samaria among Ruins (B. 71; New Holl. 127), created almost a quarter of a century before. This earlier print presents the central figures of Christ and the Samaritan woman full-length, with a cluster of disciples in the middle distance against a picturesque backdrop of a crumbling temple and a view of a town to the right. Christ is shown seated on the edge of the well, facing away from the viewer. The woman stands on the other side of the well, absent-mindedly holding the slack rope of the bucket which she has retrieved, engrossed by her conversation with this charismatic stranger. Despite being seated Christ’s figure is imposing, his divine authority alluded to by the nimbus-like pattern of receding arches above his head. The dramatic chiaroscuro with which his figure is modelled also gives him added significance as the central figure of the narrative.
In the present version, Christ and the Woman of Samaria: an Arched Print, Rembrandt dispenses with incidental detail to focus on a more theologically nuanced interpretation of the biblical story. The figures of Christ and the woman are brought into the foreground, now dominated by the cylindrical shape of the well. The lower half of the well is cropped and this, combined with the proximity of the figures, has the effect of drawing the viewer into the scene. Rembrandt’s characterization of Christ in this etching is especially intriguing. He is placed standing to the side of the well, facing forwards, and it is the Samaritan woman who now occupies the central position in the composition. Lowering his head to the level of the woman’s, his demeanour is one of quiet humility, almost of supplication as he presses his right hand to his chest. His gaze is directed towards the woman, but also seems to encompass the viewer, extending the invitation to listen and respond to the heart-felt confession that he is the Messiah. The woman meanwhile listens impassively, her hands folded, elbow resting on the bucket, suggesting that she at least is still to be convinced by what she is hearing. Behind her a group of disciples look on warily, their sceptical attitudes reflecting resistance to the radical inclusion being demonstrated by their master. The backdrop of buildings with a wooded, town-capped hill, are simplified and rendered with passages of parallel and cross-hatching typical of the artist’s later style. Scholars have noted the Venetian quality of the landscape, citing a painting by Giorgione recorded in the 1656 inventory of Rembrandt’s possessions, as a possible source. The painting, now attributed to Moretto da Brescia (Alessandro Bonvicino; circa 1498-1554) is today at the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo. Other similarities with this painting include the woman’s pose and the group of buildings with a rotunda in the background.
There are no differences to the image itself in the first and second states, which can be differentiated only by an unetched upper portion of the copper plate which is cut down in the second state. As the present sheet has been trimmed close to the borderline, it is not possible to confirm which state it is. Hinterding and Rutgers listed it in New Hollstein as a second state but with the qualification ‘Japanese paper, possibly a cut first state’. Either way, it is undoubtedly very early, for the printing quality and the sense of depth and atmosphere Rembrandt achieved in this impression is outstanding.