Eye Candy for today: Rembrandt’s Good Samaritan

Comments

5 responses to “Eye Candy for today: Rembrandt’s Good Samaritan”

1. 

   Bill Carman

   January 18, 2014

   If I said I taught Rembrandt everything he knows would that date me?
2. 

   Ælle

   January 18, 2014

   Rembrandt signed with the initials RHL 1630, meaning Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Leiden, Rembrandt, son of Harmen (Gerritsz van Rhijn, the miller) from Leiden, whilst in Amsterdam he signed with Rembrandt fecit.
   He was obviously not too keen to copy the chickens near the water well. They look pathetic. =)
3. 

   Bill Marshall

   January 19, 2014

   Always been curious about the inks used in his day. There seems to be a range of dark values in the ink lines themselves, beyond the results of depth of etch or dry point marks. If this was a direct drawing using pen and ink, one would be using a few values of ink washes, rather than straight from the bottle.
   Perhaps it is how the prints have aged?

   Bill
   1. 

      Charley Parker

      January 19, 2014

      Interesting observation. Thanks, Bill.

      I’m not sure how printing inks may have varied from drawing inks in Rembrandt’s time (I’m sure some scholar has studied it somewhere.)

      I do know the way a plate is inked, wiped and pressed can have an impact on a particular impression. Some areas could be wiped more or less aggressively after inking. Also drypoint leaves a burr on the side of the incised line that can be controlled by the angle of the point, and that wears down in successive pressings. This also affects how much ink a given line will hold. I’ve read that most of Rembrandt’s plates on which he used drypoint don’t show a drypoint burr, but the burr only lasts for short print runs, so I don’t know if he used that to effect. I think that how a plate is wiped, however, is particularly critical in the character of drypoint lines.

      Another factor may be, as you suggest, the way the print has aged. Also, despite the best efforts of those responsible for the Met’s superb website, we’re still up against the limitations of photographic reproduction of the image.

      Also interesting to look at some of Whistler’s drypoints: http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/372546
4. 

   Jason Tueller

   January 21, 2014

   I would have to agree with Charley. The delicate values appear to be nothing more than a masterful control of the medium.

   A couple of years ago, I was fortunate enough to see thirty or so of Rembrandt’s etchings at the Ackland Art Museum in NC. The passages of fine lines were so small and delicate that very little ink was deposited in the impression. This resulted in slight, transparent amounts of ink, in contrast to the more solidly printed passages.