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Lot Essay
This is one of Rembrandt's most mysterious prints, and has been the subject of debate for over three hundred years. The subject is clearly a scholar, standing by his desk surrounded by books, papers and a terrestrial or celestial globe. On a shelf in the background is a skull, a memento mori and since the first depictions of Saint Jerome in his study a symbol of learning, philosophy and science. What is less clear is the significance of the apparition by which the man is transfixed. The earliest title given to the print is found in Clement de Jonghe’s inventory of 1679, where it is described simply as 'Practising Alchemist'. In 1731 the inventory of the Dutch collector Valerius Röver identified the print as Doctor Faustus, the name by which it is still commonly known today. Whilst this title was only coined later, it seems fairly safe to assume that Rembrandt based his print on the legendary magician and alchemist: it is known that Christopher Marlowe's Tragical History of Doctor Faustus was performed in Amsterdam around 1650. One possible explanation is that the print is meant to demonstrate that scholars, and mankind in general, no matter how keenly they search after knowledge, can only perceive the truth through a glass darkly - in other words indirectly and distorted. Human knowledge is limited, and it is only through Jesus Christ, symbolised by the disc with the Latin acronym INRI, that we can partake of perfect knowledge hereafter.
In the late 1640s-1650s Rembrandt began to experiment by printing the same prints on a variety of supports, including oriental and oatmeal papers, thus exploring the effects of different surfaces and tones on the printing and the atmosphere of the image. About half of the first state-impressions of this plate recorded in New Hollstein are printed on Japanese, Chinese or oatmeal papers. For the present impression Rembrandt chose a smooth, lightly toned Japan paper and printed it with a distinct veil of ink left on the surface, resulting in the mysterious, slightly gloomy yet ethereal atmosphere of this exquisite sheet.
In the late 1640s-1650s Rembrandt began to experiment by printing the same prints on a variety of supports, including oriental and oatmeal papers, thus exploring the effects of different surfaces and tones on the printing and the atmosphere of the image. About half of the first state-impressions of this plate recorded in New Hollstein are printed on Japanese, Chinese or oatmeal papers. For the present impression Rembrandt chose a smooth, lightly toned Japan paper and printed it with a distinct veil of ink left on the surface, resulting in the mysterious, slightly gloomy yet ethereal atmosphere of this exquisite sheet.