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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 example to the Colonial Museum in 1869, and Sir John Ilott.
This etching is one of several in Te Papa's collection that depict beggars. These mostly date from the late 1620s or early 1630s, very early in Rembrandt's career, and before his studies of contemplative elderly men. Here he transforms a common, everyday occurrence into something more extraordinary. Though at first glance we appear to just witness two beggars conversing, on closer examination, we sense a complex relationship between them. We can almost imagine the narrative of this work, as the woman scowls at the man before her, who appears to literally speak down to her. Their body language is fairly polite, yet we sense a deeper friction between the two figures, as their faces remain close and neither one smiles. While Rembrandt chooses to leave the background of this piece empty, the social class of these subjects based on their ragged, draped garments and their belongings, a basket and a walking stick, is fairly obvious. Their slightly hunched forms further suggest that they are past their prime and burdened by the hardships of life.
This impression is the second of three states (the first two by Rembrandt). We know this from its smoothened plate edges, and a horizontal scratch through the man’s cap has been removed. Scratches behind his head and shoulders are partially burnished out but still clearly visible. It is before appearance in later impressions of a horizontal scratch between the two figures and a worn patch on the man’s shoulder.
References: New Hollstein Dutch 45, 2nd of 3 states; Hollstein Dutch 164, only state
See: Masterworks Fine Art, https://www.masterworksfineart.com/artist/harmensz-van-rijn-rembrandt/beggar-man-and-woman-conversing-1630/
Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art September 2017