Page 104 - Swann Galleries - Old Master Through Modern Prints - Sale 2312 - May 1, 2013

126 ● REMBRANDT VAN RIJN
Christ before Pilate: Large Plate.
Etching, engraving and drypoint, 1635-36. 550x447 mm; 215/8x17 5/8 inches, narrow to
thread margins. Biörklund’s fourth state (of 5); Usticke’s third state (of 4); White and
Boon’s fourth state (of 5). Strasburg Lily with the letters WR and number 4 watermark
(Ash/Fletcher 36 C b, which they cite for this print). A superb, luminous impression of
this large, scarce etching, with no sign of wear, even in the most densely cross-hatched
areas and with all the details printing clearly, with abundant burr in the curtain fold at the
right just above the chair and with crisp, partially inky plate edges.
There is also a grisaille painting of this subject by Rembrandt, dated 1634, in the National
Gallery, London. Rembrandt included a self-portrait in this etching, one of his largest and
most complex prints, in the upper center behind the group of men on the terrace to the
left of Christ (the head with the plumed hat). Bartsch 77; Biörklund 35-K; Hollstein
(White and Boon) 77. [40,000/60,000]