Original etching with touches of burin printed in black ink on laid paper.
Size: 4 13/16 x 3 15/16 inches
1634
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Signed and dated in the plate upper left Rembrandt f. / 1634.
A fine, clear and sharp 17th century / lifetime impression of Bartsch and Usticke's second and final state, of this scarce, attractive subject, printed after the size of the plate was slightly reduced and the addition of the small retouch to the face just below the right eye.
In excellent condition, trimmed just outside the borderline on all four sides. Literature: Christopher White & Quentin Buvelot, Rembrandt by Himself, National Gallery Publications Limited, London, 1999, no. 41, p. 156 (ill.) Collections in which impressions of this state of this etching can be found: Rijksprentenkabinet, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Kupferstichkabinett der Staatlichen Museen, Berlin-Dahlem; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; Teylers Stichting, Haarlem; Ermitage Museum, Leningrad; The British Museum, London; Biblioth¸que Nationale, Paris; Duthuit Collection, Petit Palais, Paris; Collection Edmond de Rothschild, Musˇe du Louvre, Paris; Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna. In this etching, Rembrandt has portrayed himself as an oriental potentate. The figure, rendered virtually as a bust, fills almost the entire pictorial plane and is a commanding presence. He wears a cloak with an ermine collar, signifying his status and power, over which hangs a chain. The beret, which Rembrandt wears in a number of his self-portraits, is pulled down over the forehead, and the feather hugs the line of the beret. As in other compositions in which Rembrandt uses himself as a model and dons exotic apparel, it is unlikely that he actually wore all those clothes. More likely, he added some or even all of them from his imagination or worked after the example of other artists. In his right hand the 'oriental potentate' holds a kris against his shoulder. This Indonesian sword has a wavy blade on one side only, which is quite unusual (perhaps it was not depicted after an original model). Moreover, the potentate is holding it incorrectly: the protruding piece at the wavy side of the blade, the so-called 'elephant trunk', should rest against the knuckles of the hand as protection. The 1656 inventory of Rembrandt's property lists a number of weapons, including Indonesian ones, but there is no mention of a kris.
Bartsch 18 ii/ii; Hind 109; Biorklund-Barnard 34-A; Usticke 18 ii/ii
