A Newly-Discovered Drawing by Rembrandt Makes its Debut in Old Master through Modern Prints Auction

Nestled among the outstanding selection of fine Rembrandt etchings in the Old Master Through Modern Prints auction this season, is a gem-like drawing, newly-discovered and recently attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn himself, made as he began his storied artistic career in Amsterdam.

While the placement of the drawing in an auction devoted to fine prints might seem askew in the current auction market, which often overly segregates by medium (notwithstanding the T-Rex fossils and a Ferrari car, among other outliers, at some recent worldwide fine art auctions), Rembrandt would have considered the positioning wholly natural, as his work as a draftsman and a printmaker were closely tied, and intensely personal, with greater shared affinities than painting, some of the work of which was handled by accomplished studio assistants. Rembrandt created his drawings and etchings with a spontaneity which reveals his instant creative ideas and process, whereas his paintings would have taken several months to a year or longer to complete.  

Study for a Prophet or Apostle (St. Peter)

The drawing, Study for a Prophet or Apostle (St. Peter), pen and ink and wash on blue laid paper, circa 1634, is now thought to be the original version, drawn by Rembrandt himself, of another drawing of the same subject, catalogued several decades previously by the Rembrandt drawings scholar Otto Benesch, as a drawing by Rembrandt. 

The sheet described by Benesch in his earlier catalogue raisonné is now believed to have been copied from the drawing on offer in our spring auction. Recent scholarship points to the virtuoso spontaneity and subtleness of the current drawing, compared to the more fragmented, harsher treatment of the previously catalogued by Benesch drawing, as well as Rembrandt’s skillful suggestion of the play of light and dark (or chiaroscuro), with the utmost economy of lines, in the drawing now at auction.  

At auction April 28: Rembrandt van Rijn, Study of a Prophet or Apostle (St. Peter), pen and dark brown-black ink and wash on blue blaid paper, circa 1634. Estimate $30,000 to $50,000.

The standing figure of a prophet or apostle in the drawing can be seen in central figures in etchings by Rembrandt, such as his St. Peter and St, John at the Gate of the Temple: Roughly Etched, circa 1629, and at least two other subjects in the current auction, The Raising of Lazarus:The Larger Plate, etching, engraving and drypoint, circa 1632, and The Presentation in the Temple: Oblong Print, etching, circa 1640,  

Rembrandt prints at auction April 28: From left to right: The Presentation in the Temple: Oblong Print, etching, circa 1640. Estimate $3,000 to $5,000; The Raising of Lazarus: The Larger Plate, etching, engraving and drypoint, circa 1632. Estimate $3,000 to $5,000.

Rembrandt Etchings

Rembrandt prints at auction April 28: From left to right: Self Portrait with a Raised Sabre, etching, 1634. Estimate $30,000 to $50,000; The Rat Catcher, etching and drypoint, 1632. Estimate $25,000 to $35,000.

There are also many other extremely fine examples of etchings made by Rembrandt in the spring auction, including the very scarce self-portrait in costume, as Rembrandt frequently portrayed himself and other sitters, Self Portrait with a Raised Sabre, etching, 1634. The secular masterpiece, The Rat Catcher, etching and drypoint, 1632, which shows Rembrandt’s strikingly-pointed, insightful observation of everyday life in and around Amsterdam (a homeowner receiving a pest exterminator at his doorway).  

Rembrandt prints at auction April 28: Clockwise from left to right: The Descent from the Cross by Torchlight, etching and drypoint, 1654. Estimate $40,000 to $60,000; Christ Receiving the Children and Healing the Sick (The Hundred Guilder Print), etching, engraving and drypoint, circa 1648. Estimate $30,000 to $50,000; The Adoration of the Shepherds: A Night Piece, etching, engraving and drypoint, circa 1657. Estimate $40,000 to $60,000.

And, the dramatic Biblical tour-de-force compositions: Christ Receiving the Children and Healing the Sick (The Hundred Guilder Print), etching, engraving and drypoint, circa 1648, The Adoration of the Shepherds: A Night Piece, etching, engraving and drypoint, circa 1657, and The Descent from the Cross by Torchlight, etching and drypoint, 1654.      

Related Reading

Do you have a Rembrandt drawing or print we should take a look at?

Learn about how to consign to an auction, and send us a note about your item.