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Lot Essay
Early on in his Amsterdam career Rembrandt may have considered producing a series of prints depicting the Life of Christ; lots 170, 171, 172, 175 and 182 may have formed part of this, as they are of a similar size and format. Marijn Schapelhouman believes that the present work may constitute evidence that the project was resurrected in the 1650's, with three works being likely constituents: The Presentation in the Temple (B. 50), the Descent from the Cross by Torchlight (lots 202-3) and the present work, The Entombment.
The event takes place in a high cavernous vault; the body of Christ is being carefully lowered by several bearers, one of whom has jumped down into the grave to support the body from underneath. To the left the Virgin sits with her female companions weeping behind her, towering above her is probably Joseph of Arimathaea.
During this period Rembrandt's approach to printmaking became increasingly experimental. He used widely differing papers, from the also sought new effects with his use of plate tone, and nowhere are his Impressions have survived that range from cleanly wiped, making the corner visible.
'Rembrandt has achieved a deeply emotive use of light; it floods the body of the dead Christ and reflects upwards into the faces of his mourners. …The mood is contemplative and highly charged with human feeling.' (Christopher White, Rembrandt as an Etcher, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1999, p.90).
The event takes place in a high cavernous vault; the body of Christ is being carefully lowered by several bearers, one of whom has jumped down into the grave to support the body from underneath. To the left the Virgin sits with her female companions weeping behind her, towering above her is probably Joseph of Arimathaea.
During this period Rembrandt's approach to printmaking became increasingly experimental. He used widely differing papers, from the also sought new effects with his use of plate tone, and nowhere are his Impressions have survived that range from cleanly wiped, making the corner visible.
'Rembrandt has achieved a deeply emotive use of light; it floods the body of the dead Christ and reflects upwards into the faces of his mourners. …The mood is contemplative and highly charged with human feeling.' (Christopher White, Rembrandt as an Etcher, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1999, p.90).