258 - Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606 Leiden - Amsterdam 1669), Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple.

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606 Leiden - Amsterdam 1669), Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple. Etching, with touches of drypoint on laid paper, trimmed watermark Strasbourg Lily (cf. Hinterding, variant C-f). (1635). 14.4 x 17.6 cm (sheet). Bartsch 69; White/Boon 69 I (of II); Hinterding/Rutgers (The New Hollstein) 139 I (of IV). A superb, early lifetime impression of New Hollstein’s first state, with rich blacks and strong touches of burr on the vertical rays above Christ’s hand, in the cross-hatched area below the cow’s head, in the robe and turban of the priest holding the staff, and on the tiny heads of the onlookers at the window above. With narrow margins. In an unusual and deliberate reference to an earlier master, Rembrandt based the figure of Christ on Albrecht Dürer’s woodcut of the same subject from the Small Passion of 1508, perhaps as a conscious tribute to his celebrated predecessor. While both artists capture the force and intensity of Christ’s anger, Rembrandt transforms the scene through his characteristic sense of observation and humour. The solemn biblical narrative is enlivened by incidental details: a man is pulled across the floor by his cow, while a dog barks excitedly at Christ’s heels, adding to the sense of confusion and commotion. – A horizontal tear at the upper left edge, backed. A few minute foxing spots. Verso with an old mounting strip along the upper edge; the lower corners with areas of paper thinning from a previous mounting. Otherwise in good condition. Taxation: regelbesteuert (VAT: Regular Taxation).