Nude man seated on the ground with one leg extended.

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 example to the Colonial Museum in 1869, and Sir John Ilott.

 

This etching dates from the middle of Rembrandt's career, when he was aged 40. It depicts a young nude man (apart from his loin cloth), seated on the ground with one leg extended. The sitter was almost certainly the artist's model, and reflects not only Rembrandt's command of naturalism but also his telling use of chiaroscuro (light and shade) in his line, hatching and inking.

 

This impression is the second of three states (the first two by Rembrandt). We can tell this from the added hatching on all four limbs and some of their shadows, and the shadow behind the head and shoulders, which have been reduced by burnishing.

 

References: New Hollstein Dutch 234, 2nd of 3 states; Hollstein Dutch 196, 2nd of 2 states

 

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art   September 2017