Lot Essay
It has been suggested that as many as 111 copper etching plates survived Rembrandt's death in 1669. The copper plate for Abraham Entertaining the Angels is one of the few that enjoyed a quite separate and individual history to the known group or 'recueil' of 81 plates which has only quite recently been dispersed. This 'recueil' passed through the hands of later publisher/print dealers such as Mariette, Watelet, the Basans, Jean, Beaumont and Bernard who rebit and reworked the majority of the plates, as required, for the series of frequent printings and publications that occurred throughout the 18th and 19th Centuries. Only seven plates from this group of 81 (Barsch 64, 118-119, 133, 151, 168 and 195) appear to have been untouched but are now considerably worn through repeated use and are mere shadows of their original selves. The copper plate for Abraham entertaining the Angels therefore emerges now not only as the largest 'untouched' etching plate by Rembrandt but also, in the absence of any later printing (many of the other non-'Recueil' surviving plates were printed at later dates), as possibly the only one that exists closest to its most original state - as it was when in the artist's hand - and therefore the one plate in which Rembrandt's etching skills can be most clearly discerned.
The subject, which illustrates Genesis XVIII, 1-15, was etched in 1656. Recent research on paper and watermarks suggests that all impressions from the plate date from the year of its execution. The absence of 'later' impressions invites the further suggestion that the plate may have left the artist's studio at about the same time. In 1656 Rembrandt was declared bankrupt. His art collection and many possessions were sold. The inventory drawn up at this time makes no mention of any of his copper plates, most of which may have been retained by the desperate artist as the only working capital from which to obtain some future, much needed support. However, some plates may not have escaped the bankruptcy proceedings, some may have been pawned for future but unrealized retrieval and some sold to friends. In such unsettled circumstances and in the absence of any clear documentary account one can only speculate on how the plate was subsequently acquired by Rembrandt's contemporary, the Flemish painter Pieter Gysels (1620-1690-1), whose landscape painting appears on the reverse. Since Gysels's landscape shows so little influence from Rembrandt one can also only speculate on whether he knew anything himself of the artist to whom this copper plate previously belonged.
The subject, which illustrates Genesis XVIII, 1-15, was etched in 1656. Recent research on paper and watermarks suggests that all impressions from the plate date from the year of its execution. The absence of 'later' impressions invites the further suggestion that the plate may have left the artist's studio at about the same time. In 1656 Rembrandt was declared bankrupt. His art collection and many possessions were sold. The inventory drawn up at this time makes no mention of any of his copper plates, most of which may have been retained by the desperate artist as the only working capital from which to obtain some future, much needed support. However, some plates may not have escaped the bankruptcy proceedings, some may have been pawned for future but unrealized retrieval and some sold to friends. In such unsettled circumstances and in the absence of any clear documentary account one can only speculate on how the plate was subsequently acquired by Rembrandt's contemporary, the Flemish painter Pieter Gysels (1620-1690-1), whose landscape painting appears on the reverse. Since Gysels's landscape shows so little influence from Rembrandt one can also only speculate on whether he knew anything himself of the artist to whom this copper plate previously belonged.