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Lot Essay
In 1655 Rembrandt produced four book illustrations for Manasseh ben Israel’s mystical treatise, Piedra Gloriosa, a text about the coming of the Messiah (see lots 27 & 28), which he printed and published in the Spanish language in Amsterdam in 1655. Manasseh ben Israel (1604-1657) was a Sephardic rabbi, writer and printer, whose family had fled from the Inquisition in Portugal and settled in Amsterdam in 1605 (see also lot 11).
The present first image depicts the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream from the Book of Daniel (2:31-35), in which a statue composed of various metals is destroyed by a divinely hewn stone. Manasseh interpreted this as a symbol of the Messiah coming and the restoration of Israel. The composition is marked by Rembrandt’s dramatic handling of light and texture, which lends the scene a heightened sense of tension and immediacy. The figure of the statue looms with monumentality, its form both imposing and fragile, while the moment of impact is depicted with restrained force, allowing the theological weight of the scene to resonate more deeply than any overt drama.
The print exists in five states, and the main reworkings suggest Rembrandt’s response to Manasseh’s demand to adhere more closely to the text: earlier states depict the statue with shattered legs, while the final state shows only the feet broken, in accordance with the biblical account. All states of this print are rare, including the present fifth and final state. This is a fine impression, printed with good contrasts, touches of burr, and a light plate tone, contributing to the atmospheric depth of the composition.
The present first image depicts the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream from the Book of Daniel (2:31-35), in which a statue composed of various metals is destroyed by a divinely hewn stone. Manasseh interpreted this as a symbol of the Messiah coming and the restoration of Israel. The composition is marked by Rembrandt’s dramatic handling of light and texture, which lends the scene a heightened sense of tension and immediacy. The figure of the statue looms with monumentality, its form both imposing and fragile, while the moment of impact is depicted with restrained force, allowing the theological weight of the scene to resonate more deeply than any overt drama.
The print exists in five states, and the main reworkings suggest Rembrandt’s response to Manasseh’s demand to adhere more closely to the text: earlier states depict the statue with shattered legs, while the final state shows only the feet broken, in accordance with the biblical account. All states of this print are rare, including the present fifth and final state. This is a fine impression, printed with good contrasts, touches of burr, and a light plate tone, contributing to the atmospheric depth of the composition.