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Lot Essay
The prints of beggars, tramps and homeless people in the present and following lots are testament to Rembrandt’s unique gift of observation, but also his empathy and respect for the least fortunate of society.
The prosperous and relatively peaceful towns and cities of Holland must have attracted refugees from all over Europe, fleeing persecution, violence and famine caused by the Thirty Years' War (1618-1635) and related conflicts. Beggars and paupers were thus very present in the streets of Leyden and Amsterdam, and studies of them became a recurring subject in Rembrandt's burgeoning printed oeuvre.
These prints are fine examples of the artist’s fascination with people who lived on the fringes of society. These denizens of the streets provided Rembrandt with an opportunity to study humanity in all its variety, but there was also an artistic precedent: already the first cataloguer of Rembrandt's prints, Edmé-François Gersaint, in 1751 recognized the influence of the French printmaker Jacques Callot (1592-1635) on Rembrandt, and referred to his beggar prints as ‘Gueux, dans le gout de Callot’. Stylistically, however, they are more rugged and raw than Callot depicted them with clean, elegant lines, and thus more adequate for the harsh reality they describe.
The present Beggar with a crippled Hand leaning on a Stick is very rare in all six states. The long list of previous owners of this sheet, including some of the most important collectors of Rembrandt's prints of all time, demonstrates how desirable this small print has always been.
The prosperous and relatively peaceful towns and cities of Holland must have attracted refugees from all over Europe, fleeing persecution, violence and famine caused by the Thirty Years' War (1618-1635) and related conflicts. Beggars and paupers were thus very present in the streets of Leyden and Amsterdam, and studies of them became a recurring subject in Rembrandt's burgeoning printed oeuvre.
These prints are fine examples of the artist’s fascination with people who lived on the fringes of society. These denizens of the streets provided Rembrandt with an opportunity to study humanity in all its variety, but there was also an artistic precedent: already the first cataloguer of Rembrandt's prints, Edmé-François Gersaint, in 1751 recognized the influence of the French printmaker Jacques Callot (1592-1635) on Rembrandt, and referred to his beggar prints as ‘Gueux, dans le gout de Callot’. Stylistically, however, they are more rugged and raw than Callot depicted them with clean, elegant lines, and thus more adequate for the harsh reality they describe.
The present Beggar with a crippled Hand leaning on a Stick is very rare in all six states. The long list of previous owners of this sheet, including some of the most important collectors of Rembrandt's prints of all time, demonstrates how desirable this small print has always been.