Signed and dated in the plate lower center Rembrandt f 1641.

A superb, sharp and rich 17th century / lifetime impression of Bartsch's third state of four, Usticke's second state of seven, printed prior to the addition of shading to the window sill at the left, and to the triangular white space at the lower left corner, and to the upper border 4 1/2 cm. from the right edge.

A tiny split in the margin at the upper left sheet tip, otherwise in excellent condition, printed on a sheet with narrow margins on all four sides. Provenance: bearing the duplicate stamp of the Kusthalle Bremen (Bremen Museum of Fine Arts) in brown ink verso [Lugt 293]. Collections in which comparable impressions of this state of this etching can be found: Rijksprentenkabinet, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; StŠdlesches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt-on-Main; Teylers Stichting, Haarlem; Ermitage Museum, Leningrad; The British Museum, London; The Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; Bibliothque Nationale, Paris; Collection Edmond de Rothchild, MusŽe du Louvre Paris; Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna. Tobit had been taken off to exile in Babylon, where he had an accident that left him blind. Despite these afflictions he persevered in his faith. He sent his son Tobias to Media to collect some money owed to him by someone there. The angel Raphael joined him on the journey, and advised him to catch a fish and save its entrails. Again on the advice of Raphael, they broke their journey at the house of a relative of Tobit's, and Tobias married the daughter of the house, Sarah. He was able to cure her of a curse that had killed her first seven husbands on their wedding night by burning part of the fish's entrails. The newlyweds and the angel Raphael then returned to the home of the groom. Back home after his journey, Tobias used the remaining entrails of the fish to cure his father's blindness. At that point Raphael revealed himself an archangel and took leave of the family. The old Tobit praised God for his mercy. (Tobit 12:16-22) Rembrandt made frequent use of themes from the book Tobit, especially in his drawings.

Bartsch 43 iii/iv; Hind 120; Biorklund-Barnard 34-I; Usticke 43 ii/vii

<< previous    [ return to Rembrandt index ]    next >>