Jan Asselijn, Painter ('Krabbetje')

Jan Asselijn was a Dutch landscape painter who had worked in Rome, where his Dutch fellow-painters gave him the rather insensitive nickname ‘Krabbetje’ (little crab), referring to a malformation of his left hand. It is Rembrandt's first printed portrait of another artist, created soon after Asselijn had returned to Holland. Rembrandt depicts him elegantly dressed in a confident pose, with his misshapen hand discreetly hidden, resting on his hip. As is the case for many of the richly detailed, finished portraits that Rembrandt made of his peers, friends and patrons in the 1640s and 50s, he included some objects to indicate the sitter's profession. On the table at left we see his attributes as a painter, a palette with some dabs of paint and a bundle of brushes, as well as some books to demonstrate his learning. In the first state, an easel with an Italianate landscape stood behind the painter, but was soon removed in the subsequent state. The present impression of the second state of seven, with the blank background, differs from most other impressions of this state in that it doesn't show remnants of the burnished-out easel and painting around the sitter's head. According to Hinterding and Rutgers ‘it is unclear if these traces of the easel wear away gradually in later impressions or if these were removed by burnishing’ (New Holl. 236). However, it seems unlikely that these residual marks have worn away entirely, while the rest of the etching shows no wear at all. Either they were indeed removed by additional burnishing of the blank background or Rembrandt inked and wiped the plate very carefully before printing, to prevent these impurities from showing. The present impression is a strong, clear example of the second state and therefore without doubt a lifetime impression, before the posthumous two dots added to the upper right corner and before the rework with a mezzotint rocker. It shows traces of burr and a light, selectively wiped plate tone. For another impression of the same state from the Josefowitz Collection, but on Japan paper, see Christie's, London, 7 December 2023, lot 53.