拍品专文
Not unlike the work of the ageing Picasso, Rembrandt's printed oeuvre of the final years is dominated by female nudes, although in a far less explicit manner and within a tiny production. Of the ten prints created by Rembrandt between 1658 and 1661, six depict naked or half-naked women, which are presumably the results of a series of live drawing sessions arranged or at least attended by Rembrandt (see also lots 86 & 87). There is evidence that Rembrandt's former pupils Ferdinand Bol and Govert Flinck, and probably others, such as the younger Johannes Ravens, met for such drawing classes in 1658 (see V. Manuth, in: Rembrandt's Women, p. 49-50). The similarity between the figures, poses and the headgear in Rembrandt's prints and drawings of the period and the drawings of his circle strongly suggest that Rembrandt was indeed present at these gatherings - and that the model was always the same woman.
Of Rembrandt's etchings of nude women, the Woman at the Bath with a Hat beside her is arguably the most intimate and moving. The artist - and the viewer - is seated in a frontal position directly opposite her and the viewpoint is much closer than in the other prints of this late period, almost within a hand's reach.
She is seated on a short bench on a pillow or a pile of bedclothes, her head turned sideways with a slightly strained neck, and her eyes cast downward, in a pose suggesting humility or fatigue. Her groin is only covered by her hand and a small piece of cloth. In a detail that makes this etching a perfect case study of the 'male gaze', Rembrandt has added a black hat on the bench next to her, to suggest the presence of a man.
In 1751, the first cataloguer of Rembrandt's prints, Edmé-François Gersaint, was not impressed by Rembrandt's ability to depict naked women and dismissed the present etching - or more accurately the woman depicted! - as unattractive. While a long way from Rubens voluptuous and fleshy women that would have been the ideal of femininity at the time, Rembrandt's etching has a quiet charm and tenderness which Gersaint clearly did not appreciate. The beauty of the etching lies partly in her figure and pose, but also in the more open composition and less densely worked surface of the plate, especially compared to the Woman sitting half-dressed beside a Stove (B. 197; New Holl. 307) of the same year. The poetic quality of the image is further heightened by the Japan paper onto which most impressions of this plate were printed. The smooth surface of the paper adds a gentle sheen to the image, suggestive both of the texture of her skin and of the play of the soft light on her body.
As so often, Clifford Ackley perfectly summed up the appeal of Rembrandt's last great prints:
'Although Rembrandt's nudes vary from unadorned realism to tantalizing fantasy, all [...] appear to have been based on direct observation of the model. Their glowing tonal warmth and dreamy sensuality has caused these nudes to be likened to those of Titian, but Rembrandt's are distinguished by their touching reality and vulnerability.' (Ackley, 2003, p. 285)
Of Rembrandt's etchings of nude women, the Woman at the Bath with a Hat beside her is arguably the most intimate and moving. The artist - and the viewer - is seated in a frontal position directly opposite her and the viewpoint is much closer than in the other prints of this late period, almost within a hand's reach.
She is seated on a short bench on a pillow or a pile of bedclothes, her head turned sideways with a slightly strained neck, and her eyes cast downward, in a pose suggesting humility or fatigue. Her groin is only covered by her hand and a small piece of cloth. In a detail that makes this etching a perfect case study of the 'male gaze', Rembrandt has added a black hat on the bench next to her, to suggest the presence of a man.
In 1751, the first cataloguer of Rembrandt's prints, Edmé-François Gersaint, was not impressed by Rembrandt's ability to depict naked women and dismissed the present etching - or more accurately the woman depicted! - as unattractive. While a long way from Rubens voluptuous and fleshy women that would have been the ideal of femininity at the time, Rembrandt's etching has a quiet charm and tenderness which Gersaint clearly did not appreciate. The beauty of the etching lies partly in her figure and pose, but also in the more open composition and less densely worked surface of the plate, especially compared to the Woman sitting half-dressed beside a Stove (B. 197; New Holl. 307) of the same year. The poetic quality of the image is further heightened by the Japan paper onto which most impressions of this plate were printed. The smooth surface of the paper adds a gentle sheen to the image, suggestive both of the texture of her skin and of the play of the soft light on her body.
As so often, Clifford Ackley perfectly summed up the appeal of Rembrandt's last great prints:
'Although Rembrandt's nudes vary from unadorned realism to tantalizing fantasy, all [...] appear to have been based on direct observation of the model. Their glowing tonal warmth and dreamy sensuality has caused these nudes to be likened to those of Titian, but Rembrandt's are distinguished by their touching reality and vulnerability.' (Ackley, 2003, p. 285)