The Persian

In Rembrandt’s The Persian, a lone figure poses for the viewer, showing off his heavy fur coat, fringed floral tunic, and plumed cap. The elderly man stands against a largely blank background, except for a loose suggestion of foliage and two tiny figures in the distance. Although this etching was already known as ‘the little Persian’ in the 17th century, this title communicates more about Dutch misperceptions than historical realities. Rather than portraying a Persian (Iranian) man in traditional dress, Rembrandt’s figure wears an embellished outfit assembled from the artist’s imagination. Since he never traveled outside of the Netherlands, Rembrandt’s exposure to other cultures was limited to the goods, people, and often stereotyped stories that reached Dutch ports.

The figure itself is also not intended to depict a specific individual, but is instead a full-length tronie, a common Dutch portrait style meant to represent a stock character. Despite his traditional subject matter, Rembrandt’s use of etching rather than engraving was seen as unusual and unsophisticated when he first began printmaking in the late 1620s. The process and appearance of etching imitated drawing more than engraving, however, and Rembrandt manipulated the medium to his desires. He replaced the hard resin with a softer wax to allow the etching needle to flow seamlessly across the plate, and used weaker acids to preserve the finer lines. In some areas, he purposefully leaves the work unfinished, merely outlining the boots to focus the attention on the densely furred and detailed coat.

This impression likely represents the second state of The Persian, although the total number of states created within Rembrandt’s lifetime remains unknown. In later states, an engraver’s burin was used to darken the lines of the cane and add greater definition to the right hand. This impression also includes faint horizontal dashes above the plume that are only present in earlier states.

Written by Jon Boos, edited by Simone Edgar Holmes

Bibliography

Artsy. “Rembrandt van Rijn: The Persian.” Rachael Cozad Fine Art. Accessed July 2, 2020. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/rembrandt-van-rijn-the-persian.

Rijksmuseum. “The Persian, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1632.” Accessed June 24, 2020. https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/RP-P-OB-375.

White, Christopher. Rembrandt as an Etcher: A Study of the Artist at Work. University Place, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1969.