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Lot Essay
'When evening fell, there came a man of Arimathea, Joseph by name, who was a man of means and had himself become a man of Jesus. He approached Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave orders that he should have it. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen sheet, and laid it in his own unused tomb, which he had cut out of the rock; he then rolled a large stone against the entrance, and went away.' Matthew 27: 57-61
This print is amongst the most melodramatic of all Rembrandt's prints. The composition is highly original, the focus of which is not the centre but the upper left, the foreground being dominated by the bier, to the right of which Joseph of Arimathea is kneeling, having draped the sheet. As there is only one source of light - the torch held aloft by one of the men - attention is focused on the grisly detail of the nail through Christ's right foot. The man seen from behind is perfectly depicted, and one can almost feel the full weight of the body he is bearing. In a wonderful touch a hand comes out of the gloom to the right, as another comes to his assistance.
This print is amongst the most melodramatic of all Rembrandt's prints. The composition is highly original, the focus of which is not the centre but the upper left, the foreground being dominated by the bier, to the right of which Joseph of Arimathea is kneeling, having draped the sheet. As there is only one source of light - the torch held aloft by one of the men - attention is focused on the grisly detail of the nail through Christ's right foot. The man seen from behind is perfectly depicted, and one can almost feel the full weight of the body he is bearing. In a wonderful touch a hand comes out of the gloom to the right, as another comes to his assistance.