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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. It also explains why, in later centuries, they were affordable for Bishop Ditlev Monrad, who donated this print to the Colonial Museum in 1869, and Sir John Ilott, who donated 39 Rembrandts to the National Art Gallery.
Rembrandt executed a number of paintings, drawings, and etchings related to the story of Tobit, revealing a particular affinity for this apocryphal book of the Hebrew Bible. In this etching, the artist depicts the moment when the old and blind Tobit turns to welcome home his long-expected son. In his excited haste, Tobit knocks over a spinning wheel and runs into the doorpost, with the dog of his approaching son Tobias nestled into his garment. The sense of his distress is vividly conveyed. Details such as the dog, the wheel and the fish hanging from the hearth are not referenced in these verses of the story but give dimension to Tobit's impoverished life. The scene demonstrates Rembrandt's lively dexterity with the etching needle.
This impression is a fairly late one, the second of two states (the first only by Rembrandt). Additional lines have been made with the etching needle in the shaded patch along the lower edge and in the upper right corner.
References:
New Hollstein Dutch 265, 2nd of 2 states; Hollstein Dutch 42, 2nd of 2 states
See:
http://metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/359805
Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art September 2017