Front Cover of the Book

Contributions from The Museum of History and Technology

Paper 61

Rembrandt's Etching Technique: An Example

Peter Morse

FIGURE 1

Landscape with a hay barn and a flock of sheep. Etching by Rembrandt,shown in original size.

Rembrandt's Etching Technique: An Example

A Rembrandt print in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution hasbeen made the subject of a study of the artist's etching technique. The authoris associate curator, division of graphic arts, in the Smithsonian Institution'sMuseum of History and Technology.

All footnotes appear at the end of this paper.

Rembrandt's print, Landscape with a hay barn and a flock of sheep,[1]is a singularly apt example of the variety of etching treatment used bythe artist in his mature period.[2] The print, in black ink, 83 × 174mm. in size (approximately 3-1/2 × 7 inches), is signed and dated1650.[3] It shows a peaceful Dutch landscape along the Onderdijk Road onthe south side of the Saint Anthony's Dike, only a short walk fromRembrandt's home in Amsterdam. The picture is, as usual, the mirrorreversal of the actual scene.[4]

The observer's attention, from his raised position, is first drawn tothe center of the print, attracted by the bright highlights on the treesand barn, then is snapped abruptly to the left side by the figure of thewoman outlined against the sky. Now the eye moves slowly across thebottom, noticing the flock of sheep and the shepherd, and is led furtherby the soft dark line of the creek bank, to pick up the distant town andthen the cows on the right. Only after completely circling thecomposition does one notice the horse, rolling in the grass and joyfullykicking its feet in the air.

Such artistic command seldom comes spontaneously. In Rembrandt's case,it is clearly the result of careful preparation, many years of learningand experience, and hard work in the creation of each picture. Such aprocess has produced in this print—one of nine landscapes which mark aturning point in 1650—a work of stylistic synthesis, which integratesRembrandt's previous knowledge and leads on to his later masterpieces.

FIGURE 2

Mirror reversal of Landscape with a hay barn and a flock of sheep.

In 1650 Rembrandt was evidently in a tranquil state of mind. He was 44years old. Young Hendrickje Stoffels, who had entered his household in1645 as a maid, was well settled as housekeeper and mistress. GeertgheDircx—who had been the nurse of Rembrandt's son, Titus, since the deathof his wife, Saskia, in 1642—had just been taken to an institutionafter a nasty breach of promise suit....