Signed and dated in the plate (twice) lower right Rembrandt f. 1657.

An exquisite, strong and richly printed 17th century/lifetime impression of Bartsch's second and final state, Usticke's first and only state of this scarce etching (characterized by Nowell-Usticke's as 'A rare plate, especially so when fine, and much sought after'), printed after the additional work was added to the right side of plate completing the subject, along with the second signature, showing rich burr and touches of surface tone.

A tiny brown spot in the lower margin, otherwise in excellent condition, printed on a sheet with thread margins on all four sides.Provenance: ex-collection Johann Karl, Prince of Paar (Austrian, 1772-1829), a distinguished Austrian general who assembled during his life a very important collection of more than 60,000 Old Master prints, bearing his collection stamp [Lugt 2009] in black ink verso. Literature: Wolfgang Stechow, 'Rembrandt's Etching of St.Francis,' Allen Memorial Art Museum Bulletin, Orberlin College, X,I (Fall 1952), pp. 2-12; Felice Stampfle/Eleanor A. Sayre/Sue W. Reed/Clifford S. Ackley, Rembrandt Experimental Etcher, Boston & New York, 1969, no. 232; Clifford S. Ackley, Printmaking in the Age of Rembrandt, Boston & St. Louius, 1980, no. 171; Christopher White, Rembrandt as an Etcher: A Study of the Artist at Work, 2nd ed., Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 1999, pp.251-3; Erik Hinterrding/Ger Luijten/Martin Royalton-Kish, Rembrandt the Printmaker, Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago & London, 2000, no. 85, p. 343 (ill.)' Clifford S. Ackley, Rembrandt's Journey: Painter-Draftsman-Etcher, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2003, no.149, p.224 (ill.). Collections in which impressions of this state of this etching can be found: Rijkspretenkabinet, Rijksmuesum, Amsterdam; Kepferstichkabinett der Staatlichen Museen, Berlin-Dahlem; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; The Art Institute, Chicago; Teylers Stichting, Haarlem; Ermitage Museum, Leningrad; The British Museum, London; The Metropolitian Museum of Art, New York;Pierpont Morgan Library, New York; Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; Duthuit Collection, Petit Palais, Paris; Collection Edmond de Rothschild, Musee du Louvre, Paris; Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna; Rosenwald Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. Among Rembrandt's prints with 'Roman Catholic' subjects there are two that so strongly resemble objects of private devotion that we can ask ourselves whether the artist made them to order, or at least in response to a request. They are the small etching of the 'Virgin with the Instruments of Christ's Passion' (Bartsch 85) and the superb 'St. Francis Beneath a Tree, Praying.' In catalogues dating from the first half of the 18th century, the saint in this etching is identified as St. Jerome. Gersaint, in about 1752, was the first to refer to him as St. Francis of Assisi. Rembrandt depicted him as an aged, white-bearded monk, kneeling at the foot of a tree with a huge split trunk. His eyes are closed and his hand rests on a large book. Further to the left is an almost life-sized crucifix. According to the legend, Francis's reverence for the crucified Christ was so infinitely great that one day, when deep in prayer, Christ appeared to him in a vision and impressed on his body the stigmata - the same wounds suffered by Christ on the cross. Rembrandt chose to show the moment prior to the miracle of stigmatization. Francis' constant companion in depictions of the miracle, the Franciscan monk Leo, is a retiring presence. He sits to the right in the middle ground, in a sort of primitive hut, engrossed in his reading. Rembrandt's portrayal of St. Francis as a very old man conflicts with the biographical reality - the saint did not live beyond 44 or 45 - but is not without precedent in art. In an engraving by Cornelis Cort after Giorlamo Muziano, which Rembrandt could have known, St. Francis is portrayed as an old man. It is also possible that Rembrandt used an anonymous engraving after Titian as a reference. We know, from the inventory of his property dawn up in 1656, that the artist had a great many prints after this master. Rembrandt initially executed his prints using the etching technique alone, only later enhancing certain areas in drypoint. In this print he worked in the reverse order. He scratched the whole of the main action directly on to the copper plate in drypoint. It was not until a later stage that he completed the scene in pure etching. Perhaps the most striking change is to be seen in the saint's face. The later etching work has dramatically altered Francis's contemplation. In the second state Rembrandt made changes to the mouth and turned the head slightly, so that Francis has become a much more active presence, almost as if he were talking to the crucifix. The Francis of the first state is a gentle, introspective hermit; in the second he is a militant advocate of the faith.

Bartsch 107 ii/ii; Hind 292; Biorklund-Barnard 57-A; Usticke 107

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