Christ driving the money changers from the Temple, reverse copy

During his lifetime, Rembrandt's extraordinary skills as a printmaker were the main source of his international fame. Unlike his oil paintings, prints travelled light and were relatively cheap. For this reason, they soon became very popular with collectors not only within, but also beyond the borders of the Netherlands, and it also explains why, in later centuries they were affordable for Bishop Ditlev Monrad and Sir John Ilott.

 

There are three copies of this etching in the collection. This one was originally mounted in the so-called King George IV album, and was purchased by the Dominion Museum in 1910. It was was crudely removed  from the album a few years later by James McDonald, photographer, art assistant and acting director, no doubt with its separate exhibition in mind. The other copies are one presented to the Colonial Museum by Monrad in 1869 (1869-0001-406) and one presented to the National Art Gallery by Ilott (1952-0003-55).

 

The composition of the famous Biblical episode, Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple (John 2:15),  is based on a painting that Rembrandt made ten years earlier when he was only 19, which is now in the Pushkin Museum, Moscow. Its composition revolves around Christ's hand holding the whip in the centre of the picture. The raised hand is bathed in light, Christ's face almost hidden in shadow. The figure is borrowed from Albrecht Durer's woodcut of the same subject, in the Small Woodcut Passion series (c. 1508), although Rembrandt has reversed the pose. His prints from this period show a predominantly linear style, characterised by a vigorous calligraphic energy that reinforces the violent movement of the subject. The point of Rembrandt's etching-needle seems to weave the image from a continuous thread, with lines that loop sinuously back and forth like the thongs of Christ's whip, leading the viewer from one part of the scene to another.

 

This print is a reverse copy of Rembrandt's etching when the etcher of the plate closely followed the work on paper. It is not documented in the definitive New Hollstein catalogue of Rembrandt. It is also entirely distinct from David Deuchar's reverse copy of the late 18th century, the only one of the kind that is in the British Museum collection. From its appearance, it looks as if it was made more closely to Rembrandt's time than Deuchar's; certainly it would benefit from further research.

 

References:  

New Hollstein Dutch 139, undescribed copy; Hollstein Dutch 69, undescribed copy

 

Sources:

 

Auckland Art Gallery, https://www.aucklandartgallery.com/explore-art-and-ideas/artwork/4474/christ-driving-the-money-changers-from-the-temple

Erik Hinterding & Jaco Rutgers, Rembrandt: the New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts, Sound & Vision Publishers in cooperation with the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Ouderkerk aan den Ijssel, 2013 (7 vols).

Dr Mark Stocker     Curator, Historical International Art         August 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Hollstein Dutch 139, undescribed copy

Hollstein Dutch 69, undescribed copy