282 - Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606 Leiden - Amsterdam 1669), Landscape with Cottages and a Hay Barn: Oblong .

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606 Leiden - Amsterdam 1669), Landscape with Cottages and a Hay Barn: Oblong . Etching with touches of drypoint on laid paper, watermark fragment Basilisk with Initials R.P. (cf. Hinterding, variant A’.a.a. and A’.a.b.). (1641). 12.9 x 32.3 cm (sheet). Bartsch 225; White/Boon 225; Hinterding/Rutgers (The New Hollstein) 199 only state. Provenance: Pierre Mariette (1634–1716), Paris, verso with his handwritten collector’s mark dated 1672 (cf. Lugt 1789); Unidentified handwritten collector’s mark 'W.S.C' verso (not in Lugt). A very fine and exceptionally rich lifetime impression of New Hollstein’s only state, with the deep blacks in the central shadows and strong burr in the foliage, grasses and thatching characteristic of the earliest impressions. With thread margins. In Landscape with Cottages and a Hay barn, Rembrandt juxtaposes three distinct aspects of Dutch life: the city of Amsterdam in the distance at left, the remains of the Kostverloren estate at right, and the humble rural dwelling dominating the centre. Although rooted in observed motifs from the countryside around Amsterdam, the landscape is an imaginative construction rather than a literal view. The central cottage forms the visual anchor of the composition, around which paths, waterways and areas of light and shadow seem to circulate. Small figures fishing, crossing a bridge and appearing around the cottage subtly animate the landscape. The exceptional quality of the present impression is particularly evident in Rembrandt’s subtle play of light and shadow in the foreground and in the distant views, which remain remarkably clear while retaining a delicate atmospheric haze. The plate appears to have been lost at an early date and no later impressions are known. – With a fine borderline in ink. The upper and lower corners skilfully made up. Verso with a flattened vertical crease. Otherwise in very good condition. Taxation: regelbesteuert (VAT: Regular Taxation).