402 - Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606 Leiden - Amsterdam 1669), Samuel Menasseh ben Israel.

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606 Leiden - Amsterdam 1669), Samuel Menasseh ben Israel. Etching on laid paper. (1636). 15.1 x 10.9 cm (sheet). Bartsch 269; White/Boon 269 III (of III); Hinterding/Rutgers (The New Hollstein) 156 III (of V). Provenance: Verso with an unidentified collector's stamp (Lugt 1521a); The Arenberg Collection, Brussels and Nordkirchen, verso with the collection stamp (Lugt 567). A good, well-inked and clear impression, of New Hollstein's third state. The impression retains the characteristic rich network of cross-hatching in the broad hat and the distinctly strengthened separation between the brim of the hat and the sitter's hair, features introduced in the third state. The left cheek contour appears already corrected. With narrow to small margins around the platemark. The portrait depicts Rembrandt's neighbour Menasseh ben Israel, the rabbi of Amsterdam's Spanish-Jewish community. Menasseh ben Israel (1604–1657) lived in Amsterdam and, in 1655, Rembrandt provided four illustrations for a book by Menasseh ben Israel. Like Rembrandt, he resided on the St. Antoniesbreestraat. – A tiny, carefully repaired tear at the lower right edge. Occasional small areas of paper thinning on the verso. Otherwise in good condition. Taxation: differenzbesteuert (VAT: Margin Scheme).