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Overview
In 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.
During Rembrandt's day in the hamlet of Spieringshorn, where between ten and fifteen cottages lay spread along the foot of the dyke, the most remarkable feature one would have encountered were two hardstone obelisks, which functioned as boundary stones. They had been placed there by the Amsterdam city council to mark the official boundary. The older obelisk closer to the city dated from 1559; after the extension of 1610-14, a new boundary stone was erected in 1624, further away from the city.
This well-known etching, traditionally known as The Obelisk, is based on drawings that Rembrandt made of this second boundary stone in its setting. In the centre of the etching we see a thatched cottage of the langhuisstolp type. We just glimpse the front wall of the fore-house, with its door and window above it, and the extended king-post. The brick chimney, marking the division between the dwelling section and the barn, has a cap construction, presumably to protect it from rain. The construction of the barn section of the cottage is not completely clear. At the back the roof is somewhat raised to accommodate a doorway that carts can drive through; above this is a perch for pigeons. On this side the roof slopes down until it is close to the ground. The front of the building is presumably built on an artificial mound, for the base of the side wall is lower than that of the front wall.
A wheelbarrow stands in front of the cottage with a somewhat unclear construction behind it, possibly a cart. Against the side wall, partly protected by the low-hanging thatch, is a rack on which a milk pail or jug is drying. Behind the cottage, half hidden by the boundary stone, is a low haystack, suggesting that much of it has already been used and the winter months are over.
The position of the cottage appears rather curious. In the foreground is the bank of a pool or ditch, with a dog drinking from the water. The indistinct track of cartwheels runs from the water and in front of the cottage towards some dwellings grouped around what looks like a church tower. Halfway along, a cow is standing in the grass and further away is a man with a scythe.
The obelisk commands at least as much attention as the cottage. It is a solid, hardstone pillar standing on a tall brick pedestal. On the upper side of the base are three hardstone plates, the central one serving as a drip, a projection at the edge of the cornice designed to throw water clear. Resting on these plates is a block consisting of two sections, decorated with scrolls, on which stood the actual obelisk. In the upper half of the block there was a text inscribed in Latin or Dutch, stating that this point marked a judicial boundary line. About halfway up the obelisk were two oval shields which appear to be repeated on the left side; these oval apparently contained the Amsterdam city arms surmounted by the emperor's crown.
It is significant that Rembrandt first made an etching of a far shorter obelisk, the tip of which, crowned with a ball, reached to the edge of the paper. Apparently, after reflection, he made the obelisk taller and thicker, thereby adding considerably to the strength and force of the etching's composition. Also interesting is the fact that Rembrandt presents the haystack in a kind of symmetrical balance to the obelisk so that the rick and its four poles appear to become part of the stone needle.
Te Papa's impression is the second of two states (both by Rembrandt). Much of the first state’s drypoint burr has been removed and new hatching is evident, e.g. on the farm buildings in the middle distance right of centre, as well as on the base of the obelisk.
Ref: New Hollstein Dutch 249, 2nd of 2 states; Hollstein Dutch 227, 2nd of 2 states.
See: Christopher-Clark Fine Art, http://clarkfineart.com/artists/old-masters/rembrandt-van-rijn/cottage-and-obelisk-on-the-spaarndammerdijk/
Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art August 2017