VI.

Graphic Work

For Rembrandt, drawing and etching were as much major vehicles of expression as painting. Some 1400 drawings, recording a wide range of outward and inner visions, are attributed to him, works mostly done for their own sake rather than as preparatory studies for paintings or prints. The majority of them are not signed, because they were made for his private use. Rembrandt's early drawings (of the 1630s) were frequently executed in black or red chalk; later his favorite medium became pen and ink on white paper, often in combination with brushwork, lending a tonal accent. In some drawings, such as The Finding of Moses (1635?, Rijksprentenkabinet, Amsterdam), a few charged lines indicating three figures carry maximum expression. Other drawings were, in contrast, highly finished, such as The Eastern Gate at Rhenen (Oostpoort) (1648?, Musée, Bayonne, France), which displays details of architecture and perspective. He made masterful drawings throughout the early as well as mature phases of his career. An example of an early work is Portrait of a Man in an Armchair, Seen Through a Frame (1634, private collection, New York City), done in chalk, considered Rembrandt's most finished portrait drawing. Superb later works are Nathan Admonishing David (1655-1656?, Metropolitan Museum), done with a reed pen, and a genre piece, A Woman Sleeping (Hendrickje?) (1655?, British Museum, London), a powerful brush drawing universally praised as one of his finest.

Rembrandt's etchings were internationally renowned even during his lifetime. He exploited the etching process for its unique potential, using scribbling strokes to produce extraordinarily expressive lines. In combination with etching he employed the drypoint needle, achieving special effects with the burr in his mature graphic work (see Prints and Printmaking). Indeed, Rembrandt's most impressive etchings date from his mature period. They include the magnificent full-length portrait of Jan Six (1647, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris), the famous Christ Healing the Sick, also known as the 100 Guilder Print (1642-1645?), the poetic landscape Three Trees (1643), and Christ Preaching, or La Petite Tombe (1652?), all in the British Museum.