REMBRANDT VAN RIJN (1606-1669) ETCHING AND DRYPOINT TITLED THE BLINDNESS OF TOBIT: THE LARGER PLATE, 15.5IN x 16.5IN (39cm x 42cm)

Inventory #: 25-1269 - $1,000.00

Rembrandt Van Rijn (1606-1669) etching and drypoint titled The Blindness of Tobit: The Larger Plate. This is a Rembrandt etching composition, but it is not a lifetime (17th-century) impression by Rembrandt himself, but it is instead a later restrike. The work illustrates a poignant moment from the apocryphal Book of Tobit (Tobit 11:5–11). The blind, elderly Tobit, in his anxious haste to greet his long-expected son Tobias returning home, stumbles and reaches for the door, knocking over a spinning wheel in his excitement. With frame, it measures 15.5 inches x 16.5 inches. It is matted and framed under acrylic in a golden frame. This piece was acquired from a Metro Washington DC estate. FREE SHIPPING FOR THIS PIECE WITH INSURANCE WITHIN THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

About the Artist: Rembrandt is revered not only as a painter, but also as a supreme master of etchings. His work in etching spanned most of his career and embraced the wide range of subjects he pursued in his painting: portraits, landscapes, biblical scenes, pictures with allegorical and mythological themes, and more. We know almost nothing about the distribution of Rembrandt's etchings. It seems possible that Rembrandt printed them in his own studio; he may even have been responsible for their distribution. The high standard of the impressions and the frequent reworking of the plates support such an assumption. It seems probable that the majority of Rembrandt's plates were still in his studio during the last years, even though they are not listed in the inventory of 1656. Nevertheless, one cannot exclude the possibility that outside publishers were requited. An etched plate can only produce a certain number of high-quality impressions because the process of printing wears down the etched lines, making them more indistinct with every impression. Approximately one hundred excellent impressions could have been obtained from one of Rembrandt's plates.  However, this number sank drastically if drypoint was used because the burr is much more fragile. From such plates Rembrandt may have acquired 15 to 20 excellent impressions, a number which is consistent with existing examples. The velvet tonality so characteristic of the technique diminishes with impression made over and above this number.