NOW ON VIEW
Rembrandt: From Sacred to Profane
Todd Herman
Chief Curator and Curator of European Art
Rembrandt van Rijn is one of the most
celebrated artists in history. Born in Leiden
in 1606, Rembrandt rose to stardom in
Amsterdam as a painter of portraits and
historical narratives—particularly religious
scenes.
For an experimental mind, printmaking
offered a luxury of indulgence that
painting could never provide. An image
created on a copper plate could be printed
and then the plate reworked numerous
times with printings made after each stage
or “state,” resulting in tangible examples of
each idea along the way.
A highly productive artist (it is estimated
that he created 300 paintings, just under
300 etchings, and over 2000 drawings)
he was, and still is, celebrated for his
attention to detail, his constant curiosity
and experimentation, and his unerring
ability to infuse his works with a humanity
and remarkable empathy for the human
condition that has rarely been equaled.
Rembrandt experimented with the
inking and wiping of his copper plates
to create tonal effects that would shape
the dramatic character of his scenes. For
the same reason, he also experimented
with different types of papers (from thin
Japanese papers to vellum); in some, the
ink would penetrate the paper deeply, while
in others, it would lie largely diffused over
the surface.
A master printmaker as well as a painter,
Rembrandt exploited the etching medium
to its fullest. Although he also worked in
engraving and drypoint, it was the freedom
of etching that allowed him the full
expression of his creative ideas.
The result of these techniques was
contrary to other artists and to
conventional thinking about the printing
process: with Rembrandt, individual sheets
printed from the same plate can often
possess a distinctively unique quality.
Above: Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669), Woman
Seated Half-dressed Beside a Stove 1658. Seventh state of
seven.
Right: Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669), Christ Healing
the Sick (The Hundred Guilder Print). 1649. Second state of two.
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columbiamuseum.org
The etchings in this exhibition, from the
collection of Wynetka Ann King Reynolds
and Thomas H. Kirschbaum, MD,
demonstrate Rembrandt’s inexhaustible
curiosity in humanity and its potential as
subject matter.
The exhibition includes examples from
traditional subjects, such as his famous
Christ Healing the Sick (also known as the
Hundred Guilder Print) and portraits, to
more mundane images, like the Beggar with
a Stick, nude studies and the so-called “Man
Making Water.”
These latter subjects were particularly
suited to the print medium because they
could be created cheaply and sold to a
more middle-class clientele who relished
these intimate scenes of everyday life.
Rembrandt: From Sacred to Profane will be on
view May 17 through August 21, 2011, in
Gallery 15.