419 - Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606 Leiden – Amsterdam 1669), Cottages and Farm Buildings with a Man Sketching.

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606 Leiden – Amsterdam 1669), Cottages and Farm Buildings with a Man Sketching. Etching on laid paper, watermark: “Foolscap with Five-Pointed Collar” (cf. Hinterding, variant K.a.). (c. 1641). 13.1 x 21.1 cm (sheet). Bartsch 219; White/Boon 219; Hinterding/Rutgers (The New Hollstein) 201 (this state only). Provenance: Recto bears an unidentified collector’s stamp (Lugt 1718a); possibly from the same collection as Lugt 1718; Louis Corot (after 1840–before 1930); Unidentified collector’s stamp “JS” on the verso (not in Lugt). A fine, contemporary impression of this very rare landscape, trimmed on or slightly within the platemark. A dilapidated farmhouse is a recurring motif in Rembrandt’s etched landscapes. The richness of detail suggests that, like the draughtsman in the right foreground, Rembrandt often sketched such rural scenes directly from nature. Whether drawn entirely on site or developed later, the print is brought to life by its lively observation and ranks among the most charming of his landscape etchings. In *New Hollstein* (2013), Hinterding and Rutgers date the etching to around 1641. This appears inconsistent with the watermark evidence published by Hinterding in *Rembrandt’s Watermarks* (2006), which instead suggests a first printing around 1645. – Occasional tiny brown spots. A faint, tiny colored-pencil line in the sky on the left; otherwise in good condition. Taxation: subject to differential taxation (VAT: Margin Scheme).