Renbrandt Harnensz

1
Rembrandt Harmensz. Van Rijn
Leiden 1606 – Amsterdam 1669
Almost all the Rembrandt drawings catalogued here were acquired by Carl
Gustaf Tessin at the Crozat sale in Paris in 1741. Of the twelve lots in
Mariette‟s catalogue he bought four, i.e. 106 out of 351 drawings.. Most of
these drawings according to Mariette had belonged to Roger de Piles (d.
1709), who had come by them in Holland, only a generation or two after
the death of the master. Mariette considered Rembrandt‟s landscape
drawings to be the best (les plus vraies), and Tessin kept many of them
when he was forced so sell the bulk of his collection. Several of them were
later reunited with the main collection, e.g. through the acquisition of the
Anckarsvärd collction in 1896. Although the drawings have a provenance
going back almost to Rembrandt himself, it soon became clear that not all of
them were authograph. C. Hoofstede de Groot accepted 75 of them, John
Kruse, a few decades later, about 40, and Otto Benesch excluded a few
more. In the present catalogue 30 are accepted. The number of drawings
attributed to other artist of Rembrandt‟s entourage or influenced by him
have increased, thankts to the efforts of Werner Sumowski and others. The
Rembrandt Research Project‟s attribution of The Sacrifice of Manoa to
Willem Drost is no doubt the most spectacular, and it is accepted here.1 A
fairly large group of anonymous school drawings remain, and are catalogued
as such, attributed drawings are found under the respective artist.
1
Cf. B. Magnusson, ”Rembrandt’s drawings”, in Rembrandt and his Age, Stockholm 1992, pp. 323-330.
2
[Rembrandt]
#1
Seated Old Man
Red chalk, a few strokes in black chalk or pencil in the hair, 145 x 143 mm.
NM 2651/1863
Some faint green stains on the left hand side, at the top and in the man's
hair.
No watermark.
Numbered in the upper right corner 2546 (Sparre), and in the bottom right
corner 69, both in pen and brown ink, and 2651, in pencil. Mark of the Royal
Collection (Lugt 1638).
Provenance: Crozat (Mariette, p. 101) *C. G. Tessin (List 1739-42, p. 38, as
Mellan; Cat. 1749, livre 17, no. 238, as Mellan) *Kongl. Biblioteket (Cat.
1790, no. 2546, as Mellan) *Kongl. Museum (Lugt 1638).
Bibliography: O. Benesch, "Rembrandt - Relicta aus der Münchner
Graphischen Rembrandt", Mitteilungen d. Ges. f. verv. Kunst. Beilage der
Graph. Künste, XLVIII, Wien 1925, pp. 26 and 29, nos. 2-3 *O. Benesch,
Rembrandt, Werk und Forschung, Wien 1935, p. 10 *O. Benesch,
Rembrandt, Selected Drawings, London & New York 1947, no. 16 *L. Münz,
3
Rembrandt's Etchings, London 1952, sub no. 40 *Benesch, 1954-57, I, no.
38, fig.42 *K. Bauch, Der frühe Rembrandt und seine Zeit, Berlin 1960, p.
202, fig. 137 *Chr. White & K. G. Boon, Hollstein's Dutch and Flemish
Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, XVIII: Rembrandt van Rijn, Amsterdan
1969, sub no. 325 *O. Benesch, "Rembrandt's Drawings in the Graphische
Sammlung München" (1925), Collected Writings, I: Rembrandt, London
1970, p. 87, fig. 46 *Benesch 1973, I, no. 38, fig. 57 *P. Schatborn,
Dutch Figure Drawings from the Seventeenth Century, The Hague 1981, p.
50, and p. 139, under no. 64 *M. Royalton-Kisch, “An early drawing by Jan
Lievens”, Master Drawings, 29 (1991), p. 413, fig. 6 *Rembrandt en
Lievens en Leiden, Leiden, Stedelijk Museum de Laakenhal, 1991-92, s. 66,
fig. 19.
Exhibitions: Stockholm, 1956, no. 64 *Rotterdam, Museum Boymans Amsterdam, Rijksmuseun, Rembrandt tekeningen, 1956, no. 15 *Wien,
Albertina, Rembrandt, 1956, no. 5 *Leningrad 1963 *Stockholm 1967, no.
266 *Washington-Fort Worth-San Francisco, Dürer to Delacroix, 1986, no.
86 *Amsterdam, Rembrandthuis, Jan Lievens 1607-1674. Prenten &
Tekeningen / Prints & Drawings, 1989, no. 13 *Stockholm, 1992, no.
131*Kassel, Staatliche Museen & Amsterdam, Rembrandthuis, The Mystery
of the Young Rembrandt, 2001, no. 17 *Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty
Museum, Drawings by Rembrandt and his Pupils, 2010, no. 2.2, pp. 55f,
repr. p. 53.
The drawing of the old man with a large beard was acquired by Tessin in
1741 as a work by the French artist Claude Mellan. It was restored to
Rembrandt by Benesch, and dated in his early years in Leiden. The
drawings is closely related to an etching of an old man bent forward, dated
1630 (Bartsch 325). Three etchings of similar figures date from the years
1630-31 (Bartsch 309, 325, 260). There are several chalk studies of a
seated old men in different poses, some probably of the same model.2
These studies may also be connected with the series of paintings of saints
and prophets executed around 1630. The same model seems to have been
used for the painting of St. Paul in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum,
Nürnberg, and the prophet Jeremiah in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam3.
Heads and quarter length representations of this kind, tronies, was an
established genre, studies of character rather than portraits. Thereby they
achieved a moral quality above the simple model studies. They were much
esteemed and offered no doubt a possibility for a young artist to find
buyers, who would have turned to more established artist for larger works.
2
3
Benesch 1973, I, nos. 38-42.
Rembrandt Research Project, A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings, I, A 26 and A 28.
4
The drawing stems from a period when Rembrandt probably shared a studio
with Jan Lievens. Their style at that time was very close and there has been
some difficulty in distinguishing between them. The subtle interaction
between the two young artists has been analysed by Pieter Schatborn and
Werner Sumowski4. It has been argued that Rembrandt's chalk studies
came to rely more on painterly effects and less on line than those by
Lievens. The argument is basically circular, and it is equally possible to
argue that both of them tried both modes.
4
P. Schatborn, Dutch Figure Studies from the Seventeenth Century, The Hague 1981. Amsterdam,
Rembrandthuis, op.cit., 1988-9. Most recently L. Hendrix in Los Angeles, Getty Museum, op.cit., 2010,
pp. 44-57.
5
[Rembrandt]
#2
Reclining Female Nude, Seen from Behind
Black and white chalk on light brown, prepared paper, 195x234 mm.
NM 33/1956
Strokes of brown chalk on the arm added later. Some light brown stains in
the centre, and a larger oil stain at the bottom centre.
Watermark: Horn in a coat of arms, and letters ABL (monogrammed).
Chain lines: 22 mm.
Inscribed on the verso Rhimbrandt (Tessin) and difficilement (later hand),
and numbered 3.f. , pen and brown ink.
Provenance: Roger de Piles? *Crozat (Mariette, p. 101) *C. G. Tessin (Liste
1739-42, p. 68c; Cat. 1789, no. 236) *Otto Wrede *Martin Carlsson
Bibliography: C. Müller-Hofstede, Kunstchronik, 1956, p. 94 *Benesch,
1954-57, IV, Add. 6, fig. 1712 *W. Sumowski, "Nachträge zum
Rembrandtjahr 1956", Wissenschaftl. Zeitschr. der Humbolt- Universität zu
Berlin, VII (1957/58), p. 234 *J. W. von Moltke, Govaert Flinck, 1965, p.
46, no. D.215 (Flinck) *Benesch 1973, I, no. 193A, fig. 222 *Rembrandt
Research Project, A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings, II, 1986, p. 491 *Los
6
Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, Drawings by Rembrandt and his Pupils,
2010, p. 63, fig. 3b.
Exhibitions: Stockholm 1953, no. 166 *Stockholm 1956, no. 68
*Rotterdam, Museum Buymams - Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Rembrandt
tekeningen, 1956, no. 69a *Wien, Albertina, Rembrandt, 1956, no. 16
*Stockholm 1967, no. 268 *New York, Boston, Chicago, 1969, no. 63
*Stockholm, 1992, no. 132 *Stockholm, 2005, no. 193.
The drawing was first published by Nils Lindhagen in 1953, and three years
later it was acquired by the museum and reunited with the Tessin collection.
The rendering of the naked body with a careful outline and modelling with
fine hatching is similar to the chalk drawing of Diana in the British Museum,5
as was noted by Sumowski; it is the model of an etching of c. 1631 (Bartsch
201). Sumowski dates our drawing at the beginning of the 1630s. For
Benesch the similarities with two drawings in Rotterdam and one in the
count Seilern Collection in London confirmed the attribution 6. But he dated
the drawing about 1635, as he considered it more mature than several
other nude studies, which he dated around 1632, However, two of these
drawings have recently been reattributed, the one to Jacob Backer, and the
other, a much weaker drawing, relegated to the category of anonymous
school drawing7.
The attribution of the present drawing was contested by Lugt and von
Moltke, who opted for Govaert Flinck. Recently an attribution to Flinck has
been reproposed by Schatborn, noting several important similarities with
with the signed drawing in the École de Beaux-Arts in Paris8 and a drawing
in the Abrams album in the Fogg Museum, Cambridge, Mass.9 In his opinion
it forms a link between his early dependence on Rembrandt and his later,
independent style.
However, Schatborn‟s observations that the shapeless drapery under the
figure “seems to exclude Rembrandt” is exaggerated. It compares well with
drapery Diana sits on in the drawing at the British Museum, as does the
summary hatching, around the body and the thin lines modelling it. The
similarities with the London drawing induced Sumowski to reject the
attribution to Flinck. Important is Lindhagen‟s suggestion that the drawing
might be a study for the painting "Diana, Acteon and Callisto" in the
Museum Wasserburg in Anholt, dated no later than 163410. None of the
naked nymphs in the painting corresponds to that of the drawings, but the
type is the same. The drawing is briefly touched upon by the authors of the
Rembrandt Research Corpus, who also point out that Rembrandt had
brought together an album of drawings of nude men and women.
The drawing differs in many respects from Rembrandts later chalk studies of
nude models, most of them in red chalk, but this could be a drawing from
the early 1630s.
5
Benesch 1973, I, no. 21; Royalton-Kisch 1992, no. 5.
Benesch 1973, II, nos. 191, 192, and 193.
7
Giltaij 1988, nos. 37 and 182.
8
Cf. Sumowki 1979-19xx, 4, no. 895.
9
Schatborn, in Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, Drawings by Rembrandt and his Pupils, 2010, p.
p.63.
10
Rembrandt Research Project, A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings, II, 1986, no. a 92.
6
7
There is a slight sketch of a head just above the woman, crossed out. The
thick tufts of hair indicated with e few strokes are similar to those of
Actaeon in the painting mentioned above.
8
[Rembrandt]
#3
The Calling of Matthew
Pen and brown ink, 129 x 176 mm
NM 2011/1863
Two large brown stains in the centre, greyish spots in the upper part, and
clusters of small dots at the lower left.
Watermark: Crozier (Close to Heawood 1204: 1640).
Chain lines: 23 mm.
Numbered in the lower right corner 66 (struck out) and 1815 (Sparre), pen
and brown ink. Mark of the Royal Collection (Lugt 1638).
Provenance: Roger de Piles? *Crozat (Mariette, p. 101) *C. G. Tessin (List
1739-42, p. 46v; Cat. 1749, livre 15, no. 60) *Kungl. Biblioteket (Cat.
1790, no. 1815) *Kongl. Museum (Lugt 1638)
Bibliography: Hofstede de Groot 1906, no. 1565 *Kruse & Neumann 1920,
no II:9 (school) *Kruse & Neumann 1921, no II:9 (school) *O. Benesch,
"Unbekanntes und Verkanntes von Rembrandt", Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch,
N.F. II/III (1933/34) p. *O. Benesch, Rembrandt, Werk und Forschung,
Wien 1935, p. 28 *Benesch, 1954-57, I, no. 144, fig. 163 *W. Sumowski, "
Bemerkungen zu Otto Beneschs Corpus der Rembrandt- Zeichnungen I",
Wissenschaftl. Zeitschr. der Humbolt- Universität zu Berlin, VI (1856/57), p.
255 *O. Benesch, "Unknown and Wrongly Attributed Drawings by
9
Rembrandt", Collected Writings, I: Rembrandt, London 1970, p. 119
*Benesch 1973, I, no. 144, fig. 174 *E. Starcky, “Essai sur le gôut pour les
dessins de Rembrandt en France au XVIIIe siècle”, Rembrandt and his
Pupils (G. Cavalli-Björkman, ed.), Stockholm 1993, p. 202 (school)
Exhibitions: Stockholm, 1992, no. 133.
Christ extends his hand to a seated man behind a desk. There are other
persons in the background, and one of the seems to be counting money. It
no doubt refers to the scene described by Mathew 9:9, the calling of the
apostle.
This is a summary sketch, establishing with econony of means the main
traits of the composition. The few straight lines, curves and abrupt angles,
combine to suggest form as well as movement. The same principles are at
work in a drawing of a group of horsemen in Rotterdam11, and the character
of the drawn line is also the same. Benesch compared these drawings with
other sketches of a similarly preliminary character, but with more vigorous
hatching, dating them generally in the second half of the 1630, the present
drawing as late as 1637-39. He found in them a tendency towards dramatic
expression. In opposition to Benesch's proposed date around 1636-37 for
the Rotterdam drawing, a date around 1632 was suggested by HaverkampBegemann, who connects it with an etching of that year12.
As regards the present drawing, Benesch admitted the connection with
drawings of the early 1630s, but considered it one of many cases in which
Rembrandt returned to an earlier style after "a rostrum or a decade". This
notion was criticized by Sumowski as "over-differentiation", and he
proposed in this case to date the drawing at the beginning of the decade.
Kruse believed the drawing was a school work, by the same hand as a
drawing in Amsterdam, and this opinion has been reproposed by Starcky.
The Amsterdam drawing was rejected by Schatborn.13
11
Benesch 1973, I, no. 151; Giltaij 1988, no. 4.
Bartsch 139. Review of Benesch, in Kunstchronik 1961, pp. 22f. He is followed by Giltaij and
Sumowski.
13
Benesch 1973, II, no. A 1 (questionable). P. Schatborn 1985, no. 84. While Sumowski in 1656/57
(op.cit., p. 261) considers Jan Victors, he held our drawing to be undoubtedly true (zweifellos echte).
12
10
[Rembrandt]
#4
Five Figure Studies
Pen and brown ink, 150x104 mm
NM 2064/1863
11
Verso: Sketch for a many-figured composition, probably an „Adoration of the
Shepherds‟, pen and brown ink
Double framing lines in brown ink.
No watermark.
Chain lines: 22 mm.
Numbered in the lower right corner 1864 (Sparre) and 219 (struck out), pen
and brown ink. Mark of the Royal Collection (Lugt 1638).
Provenance: Roger de Piles? *Crozat (Mariette, p. 101) *C. G. Tessin (List
1739-42, p. 46v; Cat. 1749, livre 15, no. 14) *Kongl. Bibliotecet (Cat.
1790, no. 1864) *Kongl. Museun (Lugt 1638)
Bibliography: Hofstede de Groot 1906, no. 1608 *Kruse & Neumann 1920,
no. II:7 (verso), no. IV:18 (recto), as Rembrandt‟s school *Kruse &
Neumann 1921, no. II:7 (verso), no. IV:18 (recto), as Rembrandt‟s school
*O. Benesch, "Unbekanntes und Verkanntes von Rembrandt", WallrafRichartz-Jahrbuch, N.F. II/III (1933/34), p. *O. Benesch, Rembrandt, Werk
und Forschung, Wien 1935, p. 28 *Benesch, II, 1954-57, no. 351, figs.
403-404 *O. Benesch, "Unknown and Wrongly Attributed Drawings by
Rembrandt", Collected Writings, I: Rembrandt, London 1970, p. 119
*Benesch 1973, II, no. 351, figs. 424, 425
12
Exhibitions: Rotterdam, Museum Boymans - Amsterdam, Rijksmuseun,
Rembrandt tekeningen, 1956, no.? *Wien, Graphische Sammlung
Albertina, Rembrandt, 1956, no. 35 *Stockholm, 1992, no. 134.
The sketches on the recto are in part simple suggestions with a few strokes,
in part more elaborate studies. Similar sheets with sketches in various
states of finish are frequent in Rembrandt‟s oeuvre. Close in style and
contents is a drawing in the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin with studies of
figures used in the painting “St. John preaching” of around 1634-35 in the
Gemäldegallerie, Berlin.14 The head on the right is very like a head in a
silver point drawing in Rotterdam, perhapd done 1636-3715.
The very preliminary sketch for a composition on the verso was interpreted
by Kruse as a "Massacre of the Innocents". Benesch saw an agitated crowd
before a winding staircase. The figures kneeling in front of some some small
object in a cave or possibly a stable might represent the Adoration of the
shepherds, and the pen strokes above suggest a celestial phenomenon, like
what is seen in the etching “The Annunciation to the Shepherds” dated
1634 (Bartsch 44).
14
15
Benesch 1973, I, no. 141; Bevers 2006, no. 11.
Benesch 1973, II, no. 341; Giltaij 1988, no. 11.
13
[Rembrandt]
#5
Three Studies of an Archer
Pen and brown ink, 170x124 mm
NM A2/2004
14
Verso: Bust of a man in profile, pen and brown ink
Strip of paper, c. 7 mm wide, added on the right (The inscription at the
bottom is partly on this paper). Lower left corner cut.
No watermark.
Chain lines: 29 mm.
Inscribed in the lower right corner Rembrant, pen and brown ink. Numbered
in the upper right corner with a triangle in red ink and the figure 60 in pen
and brown ink (Karlberg Collection).
On the verso iscribed rderij 2 - 0 - 0 / 3 - 8 - 0(...), the last line altered to 5
- 0 – 0, black chalk.
Provenance: King Karl XV (Karlberg collection); Kungl. Biblioteket; To the
museum in 1866.
Bibliography: Valentiner, II, 1934, no. 794 *O. Benesch, Rembrandt, Werk
und Forschung, Wien 1935, p. 16 *Benesch 1954-57, II, no.A 20, fig. 586
*W. Sumowski, " Bemerkungen zu Otto Beneschs Corpus der RembrandtZeichnungen I", Wissenschaftl. Zeitschr. der Humbolt- Universität zu Berlin,
VI (1856/57), p. 258 *Benesch 1973, II, no. A 20, fig. 628 *Rembrandt
Research Project, A Corpus of Rembrandt's Paintings, III, 1989, p. 84, fig.
19
15
Exhibitions: Stockholm 1992-93, no. 135 *Stockholm, 2005, no.195.
First published by Valentiner, who identified the notes on the verso as by
Rembrandt, regarding the sale of works by his pupils. Benesch is largely in
agreement, but has some doubts regarding the authorship of the drawing.
He connected the study with similar figures in the painting of "John the
Baptist Preaching" in Berlin, most recently dated c. 1634.16 There the figure
is lying on the ground on the left, but the head in profile is seen at the same
angle as in the drawing. Benesch rightly compared it with a drawing of a
rider in an exotic dress seen from behind in Amsterdam, which he regards
as a study connected with the painting. Schatborn considers that drawing a
copy.17 Our drawing displays similar weaknesses.
Sumowski regarded the drawing as authentic, comparing it also to a
drawing in Berlin for an "Adorations of the Kings", in which there are similar
exotic figures, but this drawing has recently been attributed to Gerbrand
van den Eeckhout18. Benesch dated the drawing around 1638, returning to
the style of 1632-1633.
The Rembrandt comission does not take a firm stand as to the authenticity
of the Stockholm drawing, although leaning towards it being a workshop
copy. The same model is found in a drawing in Munich, showing the archer
from behind in the same position as our drawing, but he does not wear the
head-gear.19 This is a less accomplished drawing, and most likely a copy.
Sumowski calles it a Maes-like copy.
16
Rembrandt Research Project, A Corpus of Rembrandt's Paintings, III, 1989, no. A 106.
Benesch 1973, II, no. 363v. P. Schatborn 1985, no. 20v, considers this a copy after a Rembrandt
drawing.
18
Benesch 1973, I, no. 160. Bevers 2006, p. 193.
19
Benesch 1973, II, no. A 15.
17
16
[Rembrandt]
#6
Woman with a Child on her Arm, seen from Behind
Black chalk, 53 x 60 mm
NM 2018/1863
17
Verso: Head of a man, in profile. Black chalk, point of brush in grey and
grey wash.
The chalk seems to have been so hard that it has left parallel marks and in
some places indented the paper.
No watermark.
Chain lines: 26 mm.
Inscribed at the upper left No 8, red chalk. Numbered at the verso 1820
(Sparre) and 206 (struck out), pen and brown ink.
Provenance: Roger de Piles? *Crozat (Mariette, p. 101) *C. G. Tessin (List
1739-42, p. 46v: verso; Cat. 1749, livre 15, no. 55: verso) *Kongl.
Biblioteket (Cat. 1790, no. 1820: verso) *Kongl. Museun (Lugt 1638)
Bibliography: Hofstede de Groot 1906, no. 1578 (present verso, as
Rembrandt) *Kruse & Neumann 1920, no. IV:44 (present verso: school)
*Kruse & Neumann 1921, no. IV:44 (present verso: school) *W.
Sumowski,"Eine übersehene Rembrandtzeichnung" , Oud-Holland, (1956),
pp. 233f *Benesch 1954-57, VI, Add. 5, fig. 1713 *Benesch 1973, II, no.
403A, fig. 484 *D. Vogel-Köhn, Rembrandts Kinderzeichnungen, Köln 1981
(Diss. 1974), no. 25 *M. van Berge-Gerbaud, Rembrandt et son école.
Dessins de la collection Fritz Lugt, Paris 1997, p. 9.
18
Exhibitions: Stockholm 1992-93, no. 137.
The sketch is cut both at top and bottom, since the man‟s head on the
verso was traditionally considered the most important motif, and the
numbers and collectors marks placed there. Hofstede de Groot and Kruse
ignored the existance of the present recto and Kruse did not believe that
the head of a man was by Rembrandt. However, it seems that the original
chalk sketch has been reworked with the brush by a different hand,
changing its character. Except for the wash, the underlying chalk study
could perhaps be compared to a sheet with studies of heads in Rotterdam.20
The sketch of a woman holding a child was discovered by Sumowski, who
dated it around 1639-1640 on the basis of the occurence of a similar figure
on the extreme right of the etching "Mardochai's Triumph" (Bartsch 44). A
comparable chalk study of a woman holding a child is on a drawing in the
Lugt collection21. The kind of hard chalk seems to be the same, and in both
cases the drawings have been sacrificed for the drawing on the obverse22.
The same kind of chalk seems also to have been used in the study of heads
in Rotterdam, mentioned above. Benesch dates our drawing and the one in
the Lugt collection c. 1635, the one in Rotterdam c. 1637. There are also
numerous pen studies of women and children from that period, and a
similar pose is found in a drawing in Rotterdam23.
20
21
Benesch 1973, II, no. 370; J. Giltaij 1988, no. 12.
Benesch 1973, II, no. 403v. Van Berge-Gerbaud, op.cit., no.3
Van Berge-Gerbaud describes the technique as “pierre noire (partiellement retracée à la pointe)”, but it
seems more likely that those traces are made by the chalk. It is well known that the quality of natural chalk
was uneven. It seems that Rembrandt consciously used the characteristics of the chalk, just as he scratches
the paint in the early grisailles.
23
Benesch 1973, II, no. 228; Giltaij 1988, no. 9.
22
19
[Rembrandt]
#7
Three Studies of a Man Seen in Profile
Pen and brown ink, 133x114 mm
NM 2072/1863
Ruled framing lines in brown ink.
Watermark: Letters WR (monogrammed).
Chain lines: 27 mm.
Numbered in the lower right corner 1871 (Sparre) and 217 (struck out), pen
and brown ink. Mark of the Royal Collection (Lugt 1638).
Provenance: Roger de Piles? *Crozat (Mariette, p. 101) *C. G. Tessin (List
1739-42, p. 46v; Cat. 1749, livre 15, no. 12) *Kongl. Biblioteket (Cat.
1790, no. 1871) *Kongl. Museum (Lugt 1638).
Bibliography: Hofstede de Groot 1906, no. 1604 *Kruse & Neumann 1920,
no. IV:27 *Kruse & Neumann 1921, no. IV:27 *O. Benesch, Rembrandt,
20
Werk und Forschung, Wien 1935, p. 28 *Benesch 1954-57, II, no. 383, fig.
429 *Benesch 1973, II. no. 383, fig. 462.
Exhibitions: Stockholm, 1956, no. 71 *Rotterdam, Museum Boymans Amsterdam, Rijksnuseum, Rembrandt tekeningen, 1956, no. 73 *Wien,
Albertina, Rembrandt, 1956, no. 41 Stockholm 1992-93, no.136 Stockholm
1992-93, no. 136 *Stockholm, 2005, no. 194.
The three studies demonstrate three modes of drawing a figure. On the left
is a sketch with summary indications of the main outlines, particulars are
sometimes indicated as a scribble without the pen beeing lifted from the
paper. At the bottom right the forms are more geometric with short strokes.
At the top, the the artist uses a finer pen and a more detailed hatching,
while accents are added with broader strokes. This would seem to be the
final stage, but one could perhaps also argue that the rather portrait-like
drawing at the top was the point of departure in search of a more
expressive solution. The drawing is a good argument agains the different
manners of drawing being a stylistic development.
Benesch dates this drawing around 1638-39, but it could also be compared
to a study for Jacob lamenting in Berlin dated by him c. 1635.24 In particular
the head drawn with a partly continuous outline in that drawing has a
counterpart in the figure on the left in the present drawing. There may also
be a connection with the painting “St. John preaching” in Berlin, where
similar male heads are found in the group below the Baptist‟s feet25.
24
25
Benesch 1973, I, no. 95; Bevers 2006, no. 14.
Rembrandt Research Project, A Corpus of Rembrandt's Paintings, III, no. A106, dated around 1635.
21
[Rembrandt]
#8
Esther
Pen and brown ink, brown wash, 240x190 mm.
NM 1992/1863
Grey particles, most in evidence in the upper part (sot rests from the
wash?). Some faint green spots in the lower centre.
No watermark.
Numbered in the lower right corner 180 (struck out) and 1798 (Sparre), pen
and brown ink. Mark of the Royal Collection (Lugt 1638).
Provenance: Roger de Piles? *Crozat (Mariette, p. 101) *C. G. Tessin (List
1739-42, p. 46v; Cat. 1749, livre 15, no. 5) *Kongl. Biblioteket (Cat. 1790,
no. 1798) *Kongl. Museum (Lugt 1638)
Bibliography: Michel 1893, p. 221 *F. Lippmann, Original Drawings by
Rembrandt. Reproduced in the Colours of the Originals, II (Series Continued
by C. Hofstede de Groot), The Hague 1898-1901, no. 18 * Hofstede de
Groot 1906, no. 1569 *F. Saxl, "Zu einige Handzeichnungen Rembrandts",
Repertoriun für Kunstwissenschaft, 31 (1908), p. 336 *C. Neumann, Aus
der Werkstatt Rembrandts, Heiderberg 1919, p. 122, fig 43 *Kruse &
22
Neumann 1920, no. IV:15 *Kruse & Neumann 1921, no. IV:15 *W. von
Seidlitz, Die Radierungen Rembrandts, Leipzig 1922, p. 239 *A. M. Hind, A
Catalogue of Rembrandt Etchings, London 1923, p. 75 *Valentiner, II,
1934, no. 572 *W. R. Valentiner, "Komödieantendarstellungen
Rembrandts", Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst, 1925/26, p. 270 *W.
Weisbach, Rembrandt, Berlin 1926, p. 233 *O. Benesch, Rembrandt, Werk
und Forschung, Wien 1935, p. 23 *O. Benesch, Rembrandt, Selected
Drawings, London & New York 1947, fig. 50 *L. Münz, A Criticar Catalogue
of Rembrandt's Etchings, London 1952, p. 239 *Benesch 1954-57, II, no.
292, fig. 322 *O. Benesch, Rembrandt as a Draughtsman, London 1960,
no. 16 *E. Haverkamp-Begemann, “Otto Benesch, The Drawings of
Rembrandt”, Kunstchronik, 14 (1961), p. 24 *S. Slive, Drawings of
Rembrandt, New York 1965, no. 235 *P. Desargues, Rembrandt et Saskia a
Amsterdam, Lausanne 1965, p. 110 *M. Kahr, "Rembrandt's Esther. A
Painting and an Etching newly Interpreted and Dated", Oud-Holland, 81
(1966), p. 242 *H.Gerson, Rembrandt Gemälde, Amsterdam 1968, p. 249,
fig. 94a *Chr. White, Rembrandt as an Etcher, London 1969, p. 115, fig.
145 *Benesch 1973, II, no. 292, fig. 351 *P. Schatborn, " “Tekeningen van
Rembrandt in verband met zijn etsen", De Kroniek van het Rembrandthuis,
38:1 (1986), pp. 20f *M. Royalton-Kisch, “Rembrandt‟s drawings for prints:
Some observations”, Rembrandt and his Pupils (G. Cavalli-Björkman ed.),
Stockholm 1993, pp. 186ff *M. Royalton-Kisch, in Rembrandt the
Printmaker (exh cat.), Zwolle 2000, pp. 72f, 144.
Exhibitions: Amsterdam 1935, no. 35 *Stockholm 1956, no. 74
*Rotterdam, Museun Buymans - Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Rembrandt
tekeningen, 1956, no. 32 München 1956? * Stockholm 1967, ?
*Washington - Fort Worth - San Francisco, Dürer to Delacroix, 1986, no. 88
*Stockholm 1992-93, no. 138.
This is the model for the etching "The Great Jewish Bride" (Bartsch 340).
The etching got its title from a collector in the eighteenth century. The
seated woman in her sumptious dress and with a scroll in her hand, has
been variously interpreted as Minerva or a Sibyl. However it seems more
likely, as Kahr has suggested, that it is a representation of the Old
Testament heroine Esther, who used her influence over her husband, the
Persian ruler Ahasverus, to prevent a pogrom of the Jews during their
captivity. Having fasted and prayed for three days, she dons her queenly
attire before interceeding on behalf of her people. She is holding her
husband's decree which would destroy the Jews. Kahrs interpretation of a
painting in the National Gallery, Ottawa, as Esther has been questioned; it
depicts a young woman in a magnificent attire, seated in the same position,
with a servant combing her hair, but there are no further attributes 26.
26
Renbrandt Research Project, A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings, I, no. A64, dated 1633.
23
There is a clear resemblance in style between this drawing and a "Young
Woman at her Toilet" in the Albertina, dated 1632-34.27 The model in both
cases is probably Saskia, who served as Rembrandt's model in a variety of
contexts. She was also the subject of an etched portrait in 1634 (Bartsch
347). Adapting to the subject matter of Esther, our drawing shows a
determined female figure with stern features and an upright position. This
attitude even more apparent in the etching, where the portrait likeness to
Saskia is also less evident.
The print is usually dated 1635 (an alternative dating to 1637 has been
proposed by Kahr). The face is precisely drawn and forms are first broadly
indicated with fluent pen strokes. Greater ephasisis is then introduced by
broader and darker pen lines and wash. As White has pointed out, the rich
tonal values would have been to greater use for the artist when biting the
plate, than when making the drawing on the plate. Royalton-Kisch has put
forward the interesting hypothesis, that the print was begun as a portrait of
Saskia, in the first states carried as far as the shoulders, and only then
continued as a representation of Esther. The drawing would belong to this
phase, the head and hair repeated in a pale ink and the sumptious dress
and the hand holding the decree drawn with bolder strokes in a darker ink.
The question remains why Rembrandt bothered to draw a full length figure,
since it would not fit on the plate. There the figure is a knee-length. There
is also more space on the right in the drawing. Perhaps a second version or
a painting was contemplated.
27
Benesch 1973, II, no. 395.
24
[Rembrandt]
#9
Old Rabbi with the Torah
Pen and brown ink, brown wash, 127 x 125 mm
NM 2065/1863
Grey particles on the surface (from the wash?). Smear of green paint in the
lower left corner. In the lower right corner a square piece of paper, c. 24x13
mm, has been inserted; the collectors mark and the figure 212 are on this
piece of paper. Ruled framing lines in brown ink.
Watermark: Eagle (Close to Heawood 1303: Amsterdam 1640).
Chain lines: 22 mm.
Numbered in the lower right corner 1865 (Sparre) and 212 (struck out), pen
and brown ink. Mark of the Royal Collection (Lugt 1638).
Provenance: Roger de Piles? *Crozat (Mariette, p. 101) *C. G. Tessin (List
1739-42, p. 46v; Cat. 1749, livre 15, no. 7) *Kongl. Bibliotecet (Cat. 1790,
no. 1865) *Kongl. Museun (Lugt 1638)
Bibliography: Hofstede de Groot 1906, no. 1575 *Kruse & Neumann 1920,
no. IV:10 *Kruse & Neumann 1921, no. IV:10 *O. Benesch, Rembrandt,
25
Werk und Forschung, Wien 1935, p. 22 *Benesch 1954-57, II, no. 266, fig.
294 *Benesch 1973, II, no. 266, fig. 313
Exhibitions: Stockholm, 1956, no. 88 *Rotterdam, Museum Boymans Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Rembrandt tekeningen, 1956, no. 35 *Wien,
Albertina, Rembrandt, 1956, no. 17 *Stockholm 1992-93, no. 139.
The seated man, seen in profile, is drawn with few, sweeping lines, assisted
by a sparing wash, differentiating the volumes and casting a shadow over
the Rabbi‟s forehead and eyes. These means are used in an unusually
sparing way, as is also the case in a study of a baby in a cradle in Munich.28
There are numerous studies of this kind from the mid 1630s with a more
abundant pen work and stronger accent; close in style is e.g. the frontal
view of an old man in Berlin.29
28
29
Benesch 1973, II, no. 259. Wegner 1973, no. 1104.
Benesch 1973, II, no. 267; Royalton-Kisch 1992, no. 9.
26
[Rembrandt]
#10
Woman Wearing av Indian (?) Dress
Pen and brown ink, brown wash, white body-colour, on light-brown,
prepared paper, 200x142 mm.
NM 2076/1863
The white body-colour covers some of the outlines, and seems to be
corrections rather thar heightening. Ruled framing lines in brown ink. Brown
stains.
Laid down.
Numbered in the lower right corner 1875 (Sparre) and 4 (struck out), pen
and brown ink. Mark of the Royal Collection (Lugt 1638).
Provenance: Roger de Piles? *Crozat (Mariette, p. 101) *C. G. Tessin (List
1739-42, p. 46v; Cat. 1749, livre 15, no. 4) *Kongl. Biblioteket (Cat. 1790,
no. 1875) *Kongl. Museum (Lugt 1638)
Bibliography: Hofstede de Groot 1906, no.1586 (doubtful) *Kruse &
Neumann 1920, no. IV:39 (doubtful) *Kruse & Neumann 1921, no. IV:39
(doubtful) *A. Romdahl, "Rembrandts teckningar", Nationalmusei årsbok,
27
Stockholm 1921, p. 109 *Valentiner II, 1934, no. 656 *O. Benesch,
Rembrandt, Werk und Forschung, Wien 1935, p. 23 *Benesch 1954-57, II,
no. 450, fig. 509 *Benesch 1973, II, no. 450, fig. 539 *P. Lunsingh
Scheurleer, "Mogul-miniaturen door Rembrandt nagetekend", De Kroniek
van het Rembrandthuis, 1980/1, pp. 10-40 *P. Schatborn, "Ben Broos,
Rembrandt en tekenaars uit zijn omgeving", Oud-Holland, 96 (1982), p. 41,
n. 151 *L. J. Slatkes, Rembrandt and Persia, New York 1983, p. 22, fig. 9
*P. Schatborn, “Drawings by Rembrandt and his Anonymous Pupils and
Followers”, Catalogue of the Dutch and Flemish Drawings in the
Rijksprentencabinett, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Hague 1985, p. 131,
n. 12
Exhibitions: Stockholm 1956, no. 91 *Rotterdam, Museum Boymans Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Rembrandt tekeningen, 1956, no. 191 *Wien,
Albertina, Rembrandt, 1956, no. 38 *Stockholm 1967, no. 275
*Stockholm 1992-93, no. 140.
The woman is dressed in a exotic-looking dress or veil with her body visible
through it. White body-colour has been applied between the breasts, on the
lower part of the body and in both armpits over pen strokes that are now
visible, but were clearly ment to be cancelled. They would have made the
nudity less apparent. Valentiner and others connected this drawing with a
series of copies after contemporary Mogul muniatures. 30
These copies are generally dated around 1656, when a similar motif appears
in an etching (Bartsch 29). Their style is very different from that of the
present drawing, and there is a general agreement that it should be dated
in the later half of the 1630s. It can be compared to drawings like "The Old
Rabbi" (Cat. 9), or "Ruth and Naomi" in Rotterdam, etc.31 There are, among
other things, a tendecy to draw profiles with one, continuous line, and a
specific way of rendering the hands.
Slatkes called the drawing the earliest extant copy from a Persian or Moghul
manuscript, comparing it to miniature in the Vatican Library, called a
“Portrait of a lady”.32 However the differences are very great. In the
minature the breasts are bare, the lower part of the body is only faintly
visible through the skirt, the hair is not in a knot, the right arm is raised and
she holds flowers, the left arm is bent instead of hanging down, there are
no shadows. to indicate a light source. Rembrandt‟s figure looks more like a
model posing, perhaps inspired by a miniature of this kind.
30
Benesch 1973, V, no. 1187ff.
31
Benesch 1973, I, no. 161; Giltaij 1988, no. 13.
Repr. in the Journal of the Warburg andCortauld Institutes, 30 (1976), fig. 29c.
32
28
[Rembrandt]
#11
Portrait of a Young Boy
Pen, point of brush in brown ink, on brown, prepared paper. 126 x 107 mm.
NM 2080/1863
Ruled framing lines in brown ink.
No watermark.
Chain lines: 22 mm.
Inscribed in the lower right corner Rimbrant, and numbered 1879 (Sparre)
and 43 (struck out), pen and brown ink.
Provenance: Roger de Piles? *Crozat (Mariette, p. 101) *C. G. Tessin (List
1739-42, p. 68v; Cat. 1749, rivre 18, no. 43) *Kongr. Biblioteket (Cat.
1790, no. 1879) *Kongl. Museum (Lugt 1638)
Bibliography: F. Lippmann, Original Drawings by Rembrandt. Reproduced in
the Colours of the Originals, III. Series (Continued by C. Hofstede de
Groot), The Hague 1903-1911, no. 10 *W. R. Valentiner, Rembrandt und
seine Ungebung. Zur Kunstgeschichte des Auslandes, 29, Strassburg 1905,
p. 30 *Hofstede de Groot 1906, no. 1592 * F. Saxl, "Zu einigen
Handzeichnungen Rembrandts", Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft, 31,
29
Berlin 1908, p. 336 *Kruse & Neumann 1920, no. IV:13 *Kruse &
Neumann 1921, no. IV:13 *O. Benesch, Rembrandt, Werk und Forschung,
Wien 1935, p. 23 *Benesch, 1954-57, II, no. 440, fig. 498 *I. H. van
Eeghen, Jaarboek Amstelodamum, 43 (1956), pp. 144ff *O. Benesch,
Rembrandt as a Draughtsman, London 1960, under no. 21 *W. Sumowski,
Benerkungen zu Otto Benesch Corpus der Rembrandtzeichnungen, Bad
Pyrmont 1961, p. 7 *S. Slive, Drawings of Rembrandt, New York 1965, no.
227 * O. Benesch, Collected Writings, I, London 1970, p. 253 * Benesch
1973, III, no. 440, fig. 528 *D. Vogel-Köhn, Rembrandts
Kinderzeichnungen, Köln 1981 (Diss. 1974), no. 47.
Exhibitions: Amsterdam 1935, no. 55 *Stockholm 1956, no. 93
*Rotterdam, Museum Boymans - Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Rembrandt
tekeningen, 1956, no. 83 *Wien, Albertina, Rembrandt, 1956, no. 37 *
Stockholm 1992-93, no. 141.
Valentiner suggested that the model was Rembrandt's eldest son
Rumbartus, born in December 1635, and this was accepted by Benesch. On
the strenght of this, the drawing has been dated around 1637-38.
However, van Eeghen has shown that the boy only lived for two months. A
date in the latter part of the 1630s or around 1640 seems nevertheless
probable on stylistic grounds. The same rich contrast between fine pen
hatching and broad brush strokes is found in the portrait of Titia (Cat. 12)
and the drawing after Raphael‟s portrait of Castiglione,33 both dated 1639.
33
Benesch 1973, II, no. 451.
30
[Rembrandt]
#12
Portrait of Titia van Uylenburch
Pen and brown ink, brown wash, 174 x 146 mm
NM 2078/1863
No watermark.
Chain lines: 26 mm.
Inscribed by the artist at the bottom in pen and brown ink Tijtsija van
Ulenburch / 1639. Inscibed in the lower left corner Rhimbrant (Tessin), and
numbered 1877 (Sparre) and 44 (struck out), pen and brown ink. Mark of
the Royal Collection (Lugt 1638).
Provenance: Crozat *C. G. Tessin (List 1739-42, p. 68v; Cat. 1749, livre 18,
no. 44) *Kongl. Biblioteket (Cat. 1790, no. 1877) *Kongl. Museum (Lugt
1638).
Bibliography: G. Upmark, Stockholmer Handzeichnungen, Stockholm 1893,
no. 15 *Michel 1893, p. 260 *F. Lippmann, Original Drawings by
Rembrandt. Reproduced in the Colours of the Originals, II. Series
(Continued by C. Hofstede de Groot), The Hague 1898-1901, no. 15
31
*Hofstede de Groot 1906, no.1567 *C. Hofstede de Groot, Die Urkunden ü
ber Rembrandt, The Hague 1906, p. 66, no. 63 * R. Graur, Rembrandt,
Leipzig 1906, no. 12 *J. Kruse, Rembrandt, Stockholm 1907, p. 117 *W.
Weisbach, Impressionismus, ein Probrem der Malerei in der Antike und
Neuzeit, Berlin 1910, I, p. 168 *F. Schmidt-Degener, "Portretten door
Rembrandt, I. Titia van Uylenburch en Francois Coopal", Unze Kunst, 1913,
pp. 2f *C. Neumann, Rembrandts Handzeichnungen, Munich 1919, no. 35
*Kruse & Neumann 1920, no. III:1 *Kruse & Neumann 1921, no. III:1 *C.
Neumann, Rembrandt, Munich 1922, I, p. 258 *Valentiner II, 1934, no.
703 *J.L. van Rijckevorsel, Rembrandt en de Traditie, Rotterdam 1932, p.
156 *O. Benesch, Rembrandt, Werk und Forschung, Wien 1935, p. 28 *O.
Benesch, Rembrandt, Selected Drawings, London & New York 1947, no. 99
*J. Rosenberg, Rembrandt, Cambridge, Mass. 1948, I, p. 248, II, p.205
*Benesch 1954-57, II, no. 441, fig. 499 *S. Slive, Drawings of Rembrandt,
New York 1965, no. 232 O. Benesch, Serected Writings I, London 1970, p.
253 *Benesch 1973, II, no. 441 *D. Vogel-Köhn, Rembrandts
Kinderzeichnungen, Köln 1981 (Diss. 1974), p. 46 *W. L. Strauss & M. van
der Meulen, The Rembrandt Documents, New York 1979, no. 1639/13.
Exhibitions: Amsterdam, Rembrandt, 1935, no. 45 * Stockholm, 1956,
no.95 *Rotterdam, Museun Boynans - Amsterdam, Rijcsnuseun,
Rembrandt tekeningen, 1956, no. p2, pr. 33 *Wien, Albertina, Rembrandt,
1956, no. 44 * Leningrad 1963 *Stockholm 1967, no. 273 *WashingtonFort Worth-San Francisco, Dürer to Delacroix, 1986, no. 89 *Stockholm
1992, no. 142.
A portrait of Saskia's sister Titia van Uylenburch (1605-1641), Rembrandt's
sister-in-law. It is inscribed and dated by the artist.
The portait seems to have been started with a very fine pen, with some
additions in brush. In contrast the hands and arms are drawn with broader
strokes in a markedly angular manner. Obviously this is due to later
reworking, possibly not done in front of the model, on top of very sketchy
indications in brush.