4489 - Rembrandt, Harmensz van Rijn

Rembrandt, Harmensz van Rijn (1606 Leiden – 1669 Amsterdam). Christ Healing the Sick. Also known as: The Hundred-Guilder Sheet. Etching, copperplate engraving, and drypoint on handmade paper, ca. 1648. 28.2 x 39.5 cm. Trimmed to the edge of the image, or in some places into the image. Bartsch 74; White/Boon 74; Hinterding/Rutgers (The New Hollstein) 239 II (of IV, II D). Rembrandt’s most famous print—known as the “Hundred-Gulden Print” because of the high price it commanded as early as the 1650s—is also one of his most ambitious works. The artist may have worked on it gradually over several years (perhaps even a full decade), resulting in a multitude of unique prints created through experiments with color and paper types. Two states of the print are known. The work is a masterpiece of printmaking: The artist employed various techniques to vary tone and meaning; for instance, he used light lines for the lively children and attentive disciples on the left, while the rich shadows created by drypoint etching lend dignity to the sick and aged figures on the right. Christ stands in the center, illuminated in a dark niche, his arms outstretched as if to welcome the crowd of onlookers to whom he is preaching; to his right, his disciples look on, while to his left, numerous sick people have gathered, asking for blessings. This work is a very fine print, likely a contemporary print of this significant work, second state (of four), prior to Captain Baillie’s revisions. An outstanding print, finely detailed and rich in contrast, with slight ridges in places. A print predating Baillie’s revisions. — Some repairs, retouching, and signs of age and wear.