Death appearing to a wedded Couple from an open Grave (B., Holl. 109; H. 165)

Details

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn
Death appearing to a wedded Couple from an open Grave (B., Holl. 109; H. 165)
etching with touches of drypoint, 1639, a good impression of this rare, lightly-bitten print, with a touch of burr to the foliage in the foreground at lower left and wiping scratches in the blank area below, with narrow to thread margins, an unobtrusive stain to the right of the woman's head, a tiny skinned area at the upper right, a nick at the left sheet edge, minor defects on the left sheet edge verso where previously mounted, pale foxing and minor staining on the reverse, otherwise in good condition
P. 109 x 78 mm., S. 112 x 80 mm.

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Lot Essay

The transience of life was a major theme for writers and artists in the 16th and 17th centuries, and in the lives of everyday men and women death and mortality were a tangible presence. To illustrate the inevitability of death, the Middle Ages had developed the danse macabre, a succession of scenes in which people of all ages and walks of life are taken unawares by death and enjoined to follow him. Such Totentänze were especially popular in German speaking territories, and a series of woodcuts after Holbein the Younger were widely disseminated - one of which is the inspiration for this print. The clothes are those of Holbein's time, and the woman holds a flower, a standard symbol for the brevity of life. Saskia may have been the model for this figure.

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