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Lot Essay
In the present work, Rembrandt's subject is one of the early sightings of the risen Christ following His death on the Cross. Executed in 1634, this plate is his earliest interpretation of this biblical scene, a subject to which he would return repeatedly throughout his career, including Christ at Emmaus: the larger Plate of 1654 (see lot 52). According to the Gospel of Luke, two disciples encounter a stranger on the road to Emmaus, who they fail to recognise as the resurrected Christ.
Rembrandt depicts the moment in which Christ reveals himself to the two disciples at an inn in Emmaus. Following the iconographic tradition, Christ is depicted seated at a table next to his disciples as he prepares to break a loaf of bread, a gesture which echoes the Last Supper and by which Christ reveals himself.
Intriguingly, the ghostly trace of a servant or innkeeper - a figure who is traditionally included in depictions of this event - is discernible in the background beneath the artist’s dense hatching. Christ at Emmaus: the smaller Plate is only known in one state, but perhaps we see here the traces of an early state, prior to the compositional alteration, of which no impression has survived.
Already in this early print, Rembrandt’s interest lies in the depiction of light and darkness, which would preoccupy him throughout his printmaking career. Here the disciples are illuminated by the divine light emanating from Christ, the rays of which are rendered with etched lines radiating from His head. This burst of supernatural light conveys Christ’s divinity and imbues the scene with a sense of awe and amazement. The rapidly drawn style of the print further animates the unfolding event and provides the viewer with the fleeting impression of experiencing if for themselves, and evokes the ephemeral nature of Christ’s apparition: ‘… and he vanished out of their sight.’
Rembrandt depicts the moment in which Christ reveals himself to the two disciples at an inn in Emmaus. Following the iconographic tradition, Christ is depicted seated at a table next to his disciples as he prepares to break a loaf of bread, a gesture which echoes the Last Supper and by which Christ reveals himself.
Intriguingly, the ghostly trace of a servant or innkeeper - a figure who is traditionally included in depictions of this event - is discernible in the background beneath the artist’s dense hatching. Christ at Emmaus: the smaller Plate is only known in one state, but perhaps we see here the traces of an early state, prior to the compositional alteration, of which no impression has survived.
Already in this early print, Rembrandt’s interest lies in the depiction of light and darkness, which would preoccupy him throughout his printmaking career. Here the disciples are illuminated by the divine light emanating from Christ, the rays of which are rendered with etched lines radiating from His head. This burst of supernatural light conveys Christ’s divinity and imbues the scene with a sense of awe and amazement. The rapidly drawn style of the print further animates the unfolding event and provides the viewer with the fleeting impression of experiencing if for themselves, and evokes the ephemeral nature of Christ’s apparition: ‘… and he vanished out of their sight.’