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Lot Essay
Christ and the Woman of Samaria: an Arched Print recounts an episode from Gospel of Saint John of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman drawing water at Jacob’s Well. He asks her for a drink, a taboo-breaking request given the ancient animosity between the Jews and Samaritans. In the conversation that follows Jesus reveals to her that he is the Messiah, the first time in the Gospel he explicitly makes this claim. The story ends with the woman leaving behind her bucket and returning to the town saying: ‘Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?’ (John 4:28)
Rembrandt’s approach in this, one of his last etchings, is very different from his first, more literal interpretation in Christ and the Woman of Samaria among Ruins (B. 71; New Holl. 127), created almost a quarter of a century before. In the present version, Christ and the Woman of Samaria: an Arched Print, Rembrandt focusses on a more theologically nuanced interpretation of the biblical story. The figures of Christ and the woman are brought into the foreground, now dominated by the cylindrical shape of the well. The lower half of the well is cropped and this, combined with the proximity of the figures, has the effect of drawing the viewer into the scene. Rembrandt’s characterisation of Christ is especially intriguing. He is placed standing to the side of the well, facing forwards, and it is the Samaritan woman who now occupies the central position in the composition. Lowering his head to the level of the woman’s, his demeanour is one of quiet humility, almost of supplication, as he presses his right hand to his chest. His gaze is directed towards the woman but also the viewer, extending the invitation to listen and respond to the heart-felt confession that he is the Messiah. The woman meanwhile listens impassively, suggesting that she at least is still to be convinced.
The smooth, warm-toned Japan paper of the present, very fine and early impression adds much ambiance to the image and binds the composition together.
Rembrandt’s approach in this, one of his last etchings, is very different from his first, more literal interpretation in Christ and the Woman of Samaria among Ruins (B. 71; New Holl. 127), created almost a quarter of a century before. In the present version, Christ and the Woman of Samaria: an Arched Print, Rembrandt focusses on a more theologically nuanced interpretation of the biblical story. The figures of Christ and the woman are brought into the foreground, now dominated by the cylindrical shape of the well. The lower half of the well is cropped and this, combined with the proximity of the figures, has the effect of drawing the viewer into the scene. Rembrandt’s characterisation of Christ is especially intriguing. He is placed standing to the side of the well, facing forwards, and it is the Samaritan woman who now occupies the central position in the composition. Lowering his head to the level of the woman’s, his demeanour is one of quiet humility, almost of supplication, as he presses his right hand to his chest. His gaze is directed towards the woman but also the viewer, extending the invitation to listen and respond to the heart-felt confession that he is the Messiah. The woman meanwhile listens impassively, suggesting that she at least is still to be convinced.
The smooth, warm-toned Japan paper of the present, very fine and early impression adds much ambiance to the image and binds the composition together.