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Lot Essay
The Presentation in the Temple, in the dark Manner is a rare print - especially in fine impressions such as the present one - despite being highly finished and one of the most majestic and dramatic compositions of Rembrandt's etched oeuvre. Presumably the darkness of the composition only allowed for a small print run before the plate began to wear, and the artist, at this point of his career, was creating prints for a small circle of connoisseurs rather than for a mass market. Together with Christ at Emmaus: large Plate, Descent from the Cross by Torchlight and The Entombment, it is one of a group of prints of similar dimensions depicting scenes from the Life of Christ (see lots 24-26). We can only speculate whether Rembrandt ever intended to complete a full cycle of etchings on this subject.
At various times in his life, Rembrandt returned to the theme of The Presentation in the Temple or Simeon in the Temple and produced three etchings and two paintings of the subject (Hamburger Kunsthalle, inv. no. HK-88; and National Museum, Stockholm, inv. no. NM 4567), all very different in style and focus. The subject is based on the Gospel of Luke (2:22-39) and usually combines two related episodes: the actual presentation of the Christ child to the priest – Mosaic law required parents to present their first-born son at the temple – and Simeon’s song of praise. Simeon was an old and pious man in Jerusalem to whom it was revealed ‘… by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ’. When he saw Mary and Joseph with the Child at the temple, he recognized Him as the Messiah, and offered a song of praise.
In the present etching, Rembrandt depicts the presentation in an unconventional manner by focusing almost entirely on Simeon and the priest, while Mary kneels humbly at left, with Joseph - almost an after-thought in the composition - peeking over her shoulder. The scene takes place in a side chapel of the temple, and the intimacy and sanctity is further heightened by the intense darkness of the space. Even the Child’s head, surrounded by a pale halo, lies in the dark - perhaps a foreshadowing of His death to come. ‘Darkness and light’, as Clifford Ackley rightly pointed out, ‘are the principal actors here' (Ackley, 2003, p. 66). Only a few intense highlights seek out Simeon and the priest. Dominating the entire composition however and binding the two figures further together is the temple guardian or high priest, who stands towering above the scene, with the little light there is flickering on his opulent garments, headgear and the staff, which points directly down to Simeon. This is one of the most grandiose and awe-inspiring figures in all of Rembrandt’s printed oeuvre.
In printing this plate, Rembrandt experimented much with different papers and in particular with selectively wiped plate tone. Some impressions, such as one of the two Cracherode impressions in the British Museum (F,4.97) or one on Japanese paper at the Rijksmuseum (inv. no. RP-P-1962-27), are so rich in tone that the entire background is almost drowning in black ink, with only a few spots of light glinting in the darkness. The present impression is richly black, yet cleanly wiped, thus striking a balance between the atmospheric chiaroscuro of the composition and the telling of the story, which is literally obscured in the more experimental versions. It is similar in character, yet more balanced and even, than the second Cracherode impression (British Museum, London, inv. no. F,4.97).
At various times in his life, Rembrandt returned to the theme of The Presentation in the Temple or Simeon in the Temple and produced three etchings and two paintings of the subject (Hamburger Kunsthalle, inv. no. HK-88; and National Museum, Stockholm, inv. no. NM 4567), all very different in style and focus. The subject is based on the Gospel of Luke (2:22-39) and usually combines two related episodes: the actual presentation of the Christ child to the priest – Mosaic law required parents to present their first-born son at the temple – and Simeon’s song of praise. Simeon was an old and pious man in Jerusalem to whom it was revealed ‘… by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ’. When he saw Mary and Joseph with the Child at the temple, he recognized Him as the Messiah, and offered a song of praise.
In the present etching, Rembrandt depicts the presentation in an unconventional manner by focusing almost entirely on Simeon and the priest, while Mary kneels humbly at left, with Joseph - almost an after-thought in the composition - peeking over her shoulder. The scene takes place in a side chapel of the temple, and the intimacy and sanctity is further heightened by the intense darkness of the space. Even the Child’s head, surrounded by a pale halo, lies in the dark - perhaps a foreshadowing of His death to come. ‘Darkness and light’, as Clifford Ackley rightly pointed out, ‘are the principal actors here' (Ackley, 2003, p. 66). Only a few intense highlights seek out Simeon and the priest. Dominating the entire composition however and binding the two figures further together is the temple guardian or high priest, who stands towering above the scene, with the little light there is flickering on his opulent garments, headgear and the staff, which points directly down to Simeon. This is one of the most grandiose and awe-inspiring figures in all of Rembrandt’s printed oeuvre.
In printing this plate, Rembrandt experimented much with different papers and in particular with selectively wiped plate tone. Some impressions, such as one of the two Cracherode impressions in the British Museum (F,4.97) or one on Japanese paper at the Rijksmuseum (inv. no. RP-P-1962-27), are so rich in tone that the entire background is almost drowning in black ink, with only a few spots of light glinting in the darkness. The present impression is richly black, yet cleanly wiped, thus striking a balance between the atmospheric chiaroscuro of the composition and the telling of the story, which is literally obscured in the more experimental versions. It is similar in character, yet more balanced and even, than the second Cracherode impression (British Museum, London, inv. no. F,4.97).