Descent from the Cross by Torchlight
ARTIST: Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606 – 1669)
DATE: 1654
TECHNIQUE: Etching and drypoint
DIMENSIONS: Platemark and paper size: 21 x 16.2 cm
STATE: I/IIII
SIGNATURE: “Rembrandt. f 1654” (“a” reversed)
CATALOGUE REFERENCE: New Hollstein Dutch 286-1(4), Bartsch 83-1(1), Hollstein Dutch 83-1(1)
CREDIT LINE: Purchase with funds provided by the Walter Cerf Art Fund, the Fine Arts Acquisition Fund, and the Memorial Art Fund
PROVENANCE: Purchased from David Tunick, Inc., New York
COLLECTOR’S MARK: Andre-Jean Hachette (Lugt 132)
OBJECT NUMBER: 2002.011
As indicated in the title of his etching, Descent from the Cross by Torchlight, Rembrandt’s use of light enhances the themes of the biblical story in which his disciples remove Christ’s body from the cross. The heavily inked background demonstrates the darkness of the night and the mood of the sorrowful characters. Unlike traditional depictions of the Descent from the Cross, Rembrandt obscures the two most common elements of the biblical scene, cropping out most of the cross and casting Christ’s face in shadow. In other images of the crucifixion, the light often appears to be divine, but Rembrandt includes a torchbearer whose flame illuminates the nail driven through Christ’s right foot. Its glow highlights the practical work of Christ’s solemn followers, the shroud they wrap him in, and the stretcher that awaits his body below. Rembrandt thus shifts the focus away from Christ and towards his disciples, emphasizing their sensible actions and human emotions.
Rembrandt builds up the textured blackness with a dense network of intersecting lines. Using the etching process, in which the artist scratches away a wax covering on the plate before submerging it in an acid bath, he creates both depth and detail. Early impressions like this one also show the blurred edge of a burr, the defining quality of a drypointed line carved directly into the plate, on the two men lowering Christ.
This print did not originally stand alone, but was included in a series of scenes depicting the Passion of Christ created around 1654. It has been edited and published four times, but because the additions are slight and were not made by Rembrandt, there is only one official state. Middlebury’s impression is a high quality, early printing with no publisher’s marks. The margins have been removed for ease of display in an album, likely owned by French collector Andre-Jean Hachette (1873–1952), who left his mark on the back of the sheet.
Written by Henry Wilhelm, edited by Simone Edgar Holmes
Bibliography
Lugt, Frits. “Hachette, André-Jean: L.132,” Frits Lugt, Les Marques de Collections de Dessins & d’Estampes. Accessed June 26, 2020. http://www.marquesdecollections.fr/detail.cfm/marque/5446/total/1.
Stocker, Mark. “The Descent from the Cross by Torchlight.” Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. August 2017. https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/764750.
White, Christopher, and Karel G. Boon. Etchings. New York: A. Schram, 1968. Same as: White, Christopher, and Karel G. Boon. Rembrandt’s Etchings, an Illustrated Critical Catalogue. Volume 1. Amsterdam: Van Gendt, 1970.
