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Lot Essay
In this beguiling unfinished print, an artist is shown seated in his studio, drawing from a live model who stands on a pedestal, her back and rear facing the viewer. The background is dark and densely hatched, with the white leaves of a palm frond in the model’s hand and the contours of a sculpted bust emerging from the darkness.
There is debate over whether the incompleteness of the print was due to Rembrandt abandoning the work or if it was intentionally left unfinished. A related drawing in the British Museum (inv. no. Gg,2.248) suggests that Rembrandt was trying to resolve the composition but ultimately decided not to make further changes. The print’s unfinished quality is particularly fascinating and offers rare insight into Rembrandt’s creative process, which is typically revealed only through early states and working proofs of other subjects. It also engages with broader themes, such as the dynamic between artist and model and the act of drawing itself. The alternative title occasionally given to this print, Pygmalion, seems forced, trying to attribute a narrative to a print that clearly depicts an artist drawing from a live model - not a mythical sculptor obsessed with his creation.
Despite never completing the print, Rembrandt evidently did not view it as a failure. It was printed in considerable numbers during his lifetime, suggesting that both the artist and contemporary collectors valued the work, perhaps just because of its unfinished quality.
There is debate over whether the incompleteness of the print was due to Rembrandt abandoning the work or if it was intentionally left unfinished. A related drawing in the British Museum (inv. no. Gg,2.248) suggests that Rembrandt was trying to resolve the composition but ultimately decided not to make further changes. The print’s unfinished quality is particularly fascinating and offers rare insight into Rembrandt’s creative process, which is typically revealed only through early states and working proofs of other subjects. It also engages with broader themes, such as the dynamic between artist and model and the act of drawing itself. The alternative title occasionally given to this print, Pygmalion, seems forced, trying to attribute a narrative to a print that clearly depicts an artist drawing from a live model - not a mythical sculptor obsessed with his creation.
Despite never completing the print, Rembrandt evidently did not view it as a failure. It was printed in considerable numbers during his lifetime, suggesting that both the artist and contemporary collectors valued the work, perhaps just because of its unfinished quality.