The Goldsmith

The present impression is a fine example of this gentle interior scene of an artist at work. This small, cameo-like work displays a delicate interplay of light in a dark room, lit on the left by the fire and by a window on the right. It shows an elderly metalworker secluded in his foundry, surrounded by the tools of his trade, with the hooded forge glowing in the background. He is standing at his bench, working on a substantial Caritas group, presumably made of gilt bronze. The tenderness with which he holds the sculpture is almost an allegory for an artist's attachment to his craft, and one can easily imagine Rembrandt handling the plate on which this was etched with the same affection.