Cottage with a white fence (B., Holl. 232; H. 203)

Details

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn
Cottage with a white fence (B., Holl. 232; H. 203)
etching and drypoint, 1648, third (final) state, a very good impression of this rare print, with fine horizontal wiping scratches at the right, with narrow margins top and bottom, thread margins at left and right, a faint horizontal and vertical crease on the reverse, otherwise in generally good condition
(FPR 36)
P., S. 130 x 160 mm.

Provenance

Joseph Grünling (L. 1106)
W. Koller (L. 2632)
Lessing J. Rosenwald (L. 1760 b)
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., with their duplicate stamp (not in Lugt)

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Rembrandt's landscapes were etched in two fairly distinct periods - 1640-45 and 1650-52, with this print acting as a bridge between the two. In contrast to his first group (cf. lots 41, 42 and 46) where the focal building was isolated against a distant background, here he has begun to integrate the cottage into the landscape. In the later group (cf. lots 40, 43-4 and 48) the buildings are completely assimilated by their surroundings.
It is the only print in Rembrandt's work for which a direct, closely related preparatory study is known. One significant difference between the drawing and the etching is the presence here of a skull in the foreground. It endows the print with a broader meaning, suggesting the transitory nature of this idyllic rural scene. This type of overt symbolism is rare in Rembrandt's landscapes.
Reproduced actual size

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