A late 17th / early 18th century impression of Bartsch and Biorklund-Barnard's second and final state, Usticke's fifth state, printed prior to the retouching of the plate by Captain William Baillie circa 1775.

The sheet with a central vertical fold, a horizontal tear at the lower right edge, the lower left sheet tip reattached, all of these expertly repaired and invisible on the recto, trimmed down to the platemark on all four sides, backed with Japan paper.

Collections in which impression of this state of this etching can be found: Rijksprentenkabinet, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Kupferstichkabinett der Staatlichen Museen, Berlin-Dahlem; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge; Art Institute Chicago; Kupferstichkabinett der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen, Dresden; Teylers Stichting, Haarlem; Ermitage Museum, Leningrad; The British Museum, London; The Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Staatlichen Graphische Sammlung, Munich; Frick Collection, New York; Pierpont Morgan Library, New York; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; Biblioth�que National, Paris; Duthuit Collection, Petit Palais, Paris; Fritz Lugt Collection, Institut N�erlandais, Paris; Collection Edmond de Rothschild, Mus�e du Louvre, Paris; Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna; Rosenwald Collection, National Gallery of Art Washington, D.C. In this print, Rembrandt reproduces the main themes of Chapter 19 of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. This interpretation of the etching is confirmed by a poem penned by the artist's contemporary H.F. Waterloo on the back of the impression now in Paris: �And so Rembrandt drew from life, with his etching tool, The Son of God in a world of sorrow, showing how, sixteen centuries ago, He gave the sign of His miracles. Here Jesus' hand helps the sick. And to the children (Mark of Divinity!) He gives his blessing, and punishes those that hinder them. Yet the young man wails. And the scribes sneer at the faith in Holiness that crowns Christ's Divinity�. Rembrandt stresses the varied nature of the miracles performed by Christ, in amalgamating different episodes from the account in the Bible. The viewer is introduced to the crowded scene through the diagonal arrangement of the composition and, above all, through the use of lighting. The darkness that appears to deepen behind the figure of Christ evokes the suggestion of a monumental, arched structure. Christ's nobility is enacted as the redeemer shines forth against the depths of this darkness. On the right is the healing of the sick (verses 1-2). Adjoining it is the dispute with pronouncements. To the left are the mothers bringing their children to him (verses 13-14). Among them, with his hand in front of his mouth, is the rich young man who asked Christ how to achieve eternal life. The answer was that he should sell everything he owned and give the proceeds to the poor, whereupon he went away sad. This prompted Christ to say to his disciples: �It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God� (verse 24). The camel is in the gateway to the right. In the figure to the left of Christ we recognize St. Peter, whose discussion with Christ closes the chapter (verses 27-30).

'The Hundred Guilder Print' was Rembrandt's best-known and most admired etching in the 17th century. It fetched high prices and was copied soon after its publication. In 1711 a written story was recorded wherein Rembrandt bid a hundred guilders at auction in order to buy back a single impression of this etching, thus its nickname. Gersaint, the author of the first printed catalogue raisonne of Rembrandt etchings (1751), praised the Hundred Guilder Print as the best etching from the master's hand. He drew particular attention to the variety in Rembrandt's record of human expression, which was shown 'avec tout l'esprit imaginable'.

Bartsch 74 ii/ii; Hind 236; Biorklund-Barnard 49-I; Usticke 74 v

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