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拍品專文
This beautiful impression of the first state of The Flight into Egypt: a Night Piece is one of the small jewels of the Sam Josefowitz Collection. Even in this early state, the composition feels quite complete and finished, and Rembrandt must have been happy with it, as a total of 19 impressions of this state are known, with all but the present one in public collections.
It is a very concentrated composition, showing not much more than Mary and Joseph trotting along through a hilly, wooded landscape, which is merely hinted at rather than described in detail. The Virgin is seated sideways on the donkey, led by Joseph. She is clothed in a heavy cloak covering her head, arms and feet. She seems to clutch the Child close to her, sheltering Him below her garments, but we may just glimpse the back of His head: a short curved line below her chest. Joseph is carrying a brightly-lit lantern, casting long shadows onto the ground. Yet this does not seem to be the only light source. The sky at upper right is quite transparent, with some spaced vertical lines suggesting rays of light. Although rather bright, this is clearly a night scene, perhaps lit by the full moon.
This very cleanly wiped example shows the whole composition with brilliant clarity and intense contrasts, superior in that respect to the impression in the Morgan Library (inv. no. B 047-054). Already in this first state, Rembrandt was tempted to explore the nocturnal aspect of the scene further, as he printed at least four impressions with a heavy plate tone (see British Museum, inv. no. F,4.103). These experiments with plate tone and selective wiping did not seem to have satisfied him, as he took the plate in rapid succession through four more states, printed in very small numbers, in which the scene becomes increasingly darker. In the sixth state, of which he produced the first sizeable print run of this plate, the image is almost completely blackened, with the lantern as the only highlight, casting a faint twilight at the figures of Joseph, Mary and the donkey.
The Josefowitz Collection also included a fine example of the third state and one of the sixth (see lot 40), which together with the present first state, form a fascinating ensemble. To see the three versions sides by side is an almost cinematic experience, as if witnessing their journey in time, as night falls.
The Holy Family’s Flight into Egypt and the Rest on the Flight into Egypt are amongst Rembrandt’s most frequent motifs, and he returned to them in no fewer than eight etchings, several drawings and at least three paintings. It may have been a popular theme, but apart from commercial reasons, Rembrandt must have had an artistic affinity for it. Perhaps it afforded him the opportunity to explore the subject of figures in a landscape in a wide variety of ways.
The present sheet comes with illustrious provenances – August Artaria, Paul Davidsohn, the Rembrandt connoisseur and cataloguer Captain Nowell-Usticke, Richard Zinser – and has always been very desirable, as it consistently achieved very high prices for a print of such modest size.
It is a very concentrated composition, showing not much more than Mary and Joseph trotting along through a hilly, wooded landscape, which is merely hinted at rather than described in detail. The Virgin is seated sideways on the donkey, led by Joseph. She is clothed in a heavy cloak covering her head, arms and feet. She seems to clutch the Child close to her, sheltering Him below her garments, but we may just glimpse the back of His head: a short curved line below her chest. Joseph is carrying a brightly-lit lantern, casting long shadows onto the ground. Yet this does not seem to be the only light source. The sky at upper right is quite transparent, with some spaced vertical lines suggesting rays of light. Although rather bright, this is clearly a night scene, perhaps lit by the full moon.
This very cleanly wiped example shows the whole composition with brilliant clarity and intense contrasts, superior in that respect to the impression in the Morgan Library (inv. no. B 047-054). Already in this first state, Rembrandt was tempted to explore the nocturnal aspect of the scene further, as he printed at least four impressions with a heavy plate tone (see British Museum, inv. no. F,4.103). These experiments with plate tone and selective wiping did not seem to have satisfied him, as he took the plate in rapid succession through four more states, printed in very small numbers, in which the scene becomes increasingly darker. In the sixth state, of which he produced the first sizeable print run of this plate, the image is almost completely blackened, with the lantern as the only highlight, casting a faint twilight at the figures of Joseph, Mary and the donkey.
The Josefowitz Collection also included a fine example of the third state and one of the sixth (see lot 40), which together with the present first state, form a fascinating ensemble. To see the three versions sides by side is an almost cinematic experience, as if witnessing their journey in time, as night falls.
The Holy Family’s Flight into Egypt and the Rest on the Flight into Egypt are amongst Rembrandt’s most frequent motifs, and he returned to them in no fewer than eight etchings, several drawings and at least three paintings. It may have been a popular theme, but apart from commercial reasons, Rembrandt must have had an artistic affinity for it. Perhaps it afforded him the opportunity to explore the subject of figures in a landscape in a wide variety of ways.
The present sheet comes with illustrious provenances – August Artaria, Paul Davidsohn, the Rembrandt connoisseur and cataloguer Captain Nowell-Usticke, Richard Zinser – and has always been very desirable, as it consistently achieved very high prices for a print of such modest size.