Three Oriental Figures (Jacob and Laban)

rembrandtthreea

Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669), Three Oriental Figures (Jacob and Laban), etching, 1642, [signed and dated in reverse in the plate].h: 5.8 x w: 4.4 in / h: 14.7 x w: 11.2 cm

References: Bartsch, Hollstein 118, second state of two. In very good condition, two tiny (oil?) dots in matrix, with thread margins all around. With a Seven Provinces watermark (characteristic of numerous lifetime impressions of Rembrandt prints). Archival mounting.

Provenance: J.B. de Graaf (Lugt 1120), with the chop mark recto bottom edge

A very fine clear impression, with the drypoint work at the right of the porch, the man’s hat at center, and the pointing hand clear, with faint traces of burr on the latter. Still with lines in the sky. This is not an uncommon print, but it is unusual to encounter the Three Oriental Figures in such a fine impression.

In the second state light drypoint work was added to the foliage at the right opposite the porch and elsewhere, but the essential composition was unchanged from the first state.