Signed and dated in the plate lower center Rembrandt f. 1623.

A fine 18th century impression of Bartsch's second and final state, Usticke's second state of three, printed after the skillful retouching of the plate, probably by Charles Henri Watelet.

In excellent condition on a sheet with small margins. Provenance: ex-collecion William Easdaile (British, 1758-1837), collection of drawings and prints known for his extensive collection of Rembrandt etchings, bearing his monogram in pen and ink in the lower left corner, recto and verso [Lugt 2617]. Jan Cornelis Sylvius (1564-1638), a preacher in the Dutch Reformed Church in Amsterdam beginning in 1610, was the legal guardian of Rembrandt's wife-to-be, Saskia van Uylenburgh, at the time this etching was made. It was to Sylvius that Rembrandt made his appeal for Saskia's hand. This portrait undoubtedly helped engineer the old man's consent, for Saskia and Rembrandt married the year after its completion. His hands clasped over his Bible and his head covered by a skullcap, the early Sylvius (Rembrandt executed another, posthumously, in 1646), conveys the asceticism of this religious scholar. This etched portrait of Sylvius is a quiet and restrained work, quite different from the majority of the painted portraits of those years. The background always plays a very limited role in early portrait studies, however, in this etching the gray of the background effectively sets off the modeling in light and dark of the face and clothing. The deep blacks of the clothing and the skullcap were achieved by biting the plate twice.

Bartsch 266 ii/ii; hind 111; Biorklund-Barnard 33-H; Usticke 266 ii/iii

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