Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn

'A tree study with Saint Jerome thrown in' is how A.M. Hind described this stunning print. It was common in the Northern European tradition to represent the saint with a dead tree and crucifix, an association made more meaningful here by the flowering branch growing directly over the saint as a symbol of regeneration. In the foreground the rushes and water have been drawn in with drypoint. The enclosed bower, which surrounds the Saint, is given seclusion by the addition of high rocks and a waterfall some distance behind. It is a place of rural peace, undisturbed by the noise of humanity.

Special Notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 15% on the buyer's premium

Provenance

Presumably Ferdinand, King of Portugal (1816-1885) (cf. L. 968, this mark not in Lugt); his sale, J. M. Heberle, Cologne, 29 November 1893.

Saleroom Notice

Thomas Rassieur discovered an intermediate state between the first and the present second state, identical with the second state except for some of the additional shading on the saint.