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Overview
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, three centuries later, they were affordable for Wellington collector and philanthropist Sir John Ilott, who presented 37 Rembrandt prints to the National Art Gallery between 1952 and 1969.
The subject of this 1641 etching is unclear. It shows three oriental figures in front of a house, one of whom is an old woman, talking to a man who leans on the bottom half of the door. In early inventories the composition was not clearly recognisable, and later authors do not explain the image. Both Gersaint and Bartsch catalogued it among Rembrandt's genre scenes of everyday life rather than as a biblical theme. It was not until 1859 that Charles Blanc suggested it might be a biblical scene with Jacob and Laban, showing the moment when the unwilling Laban, who refuses to allow Jacob and his family to depart, is being lectured by the latter about his obstinacy (Genesis 30:25-34). This is not convincing, because at the time of this event Jacob and his wife Rachel (or Leah) were considerably younger than Rembrandt's characters. Because of this, the early 20th century Rembrandt expert André-Charles Coppier thought it depicted Job and his three friends, but this hypothesis is equally unconvincing.
This impression is the second of two states (both by Rembrandt). More foliage has been added in drypoint to the right of the porch, and additional lines on the shoulders of the turbaned man and on the dog’s head.
References: New Hollstein Dutch 190, 2nd of 2 states; Hollstein Dutch 118, 2nd of 2 states
See: Christopher-Clark Fine Art, http://clarkfineart.com/artists/old-masters/rembrandt-van-rijn/three-oriental-figures-also-known-as-jacob-and-laban/
Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art August 2017