Jacob's Ladder

1655

Rembrandt van Rijn

Associated Names
Rembrandt van Rijn

Artist, Dutch, 1606 - 1669

The image is an etching depicting multiple figures arranged in a diagonal pattern. The figures are shown in various poses, including standing, kneeling, and lying down. The facial features are indistinct, with emphasis on shading and texture. The hair and garments flow naturally, suggesting traditional historical clothing. Some figures appear to have wings. There are no visible jewelry or objects held by the figures. The background is filled with heavy cross-hatching and shadowing. The scene is richly textured and atmospheric, with dark tones dominating the palette.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching, burin and drypoint

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    image: 10.6 × 7 cm (4 3/16 × 2 3/4 in.)
    plate: 11.7 × 7.2 cm (4 5/8 × 2 13/16 in.)
    sheet: 12.4 × 7.9 cm (4 7/8 × 3 1/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.7211

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    White/Boon 1969, no. 36, State B iii/iii

  • Series Title

    Illustration to Menasseh ben Israel's "Piedra Gloriosa o de la Estatua de Nebuchadnesar"

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Lessing Julius Rosenwald (Lugt 1760b); given to the National Gallery of Art 1943

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1930

  • Prints and Drawings by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) from the Collections of Lessing J. Rosenwald, Pennsylvania Museum of Art, 1930

  • Rembrandt Etchings: Lent by Mr. Lessing J. Rosenwald, Philadelphia Art Alliance, 1930.

1932

  • Etchings by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) from the Collections of Lessing J. Rosenwald, Sears, Roebuck, and Co. Art Galleries, Washington, D.C., 1932.

1953

  • Flight, Fantasy, Faith, Fact: A Loan Exhibition Commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of Powered Flight, Dayton Art Institute, OH, 1953-1954, no. 76.

1961

  • Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinatti, OH, 1961-1962.

1965

  • The Old Testament in Prints from the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, University of Notre Dame Art Gallery, Notre Dame, IN, 1965.

1967

  • The Book of Genesis: Master Prints, The Jewish Museum, New York, NY, 1967-1968.

Bibliography

1923

  • Hind, Arthur M. A Catalogue of Rembrandt's Etchings. London: Methuen and Co. Ltd., 1923.

1969

  • White, Christopher and Karel G. Boon. Rembrandt's Etchings. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Van Gendt & Co., 1969.

1993

  • The New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, 1450-1700. Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1993: no. 288b, iii/iv.

Inscriptions

in plate, in margin below image at bottom left: Rembrandt f 1655; on verso: [scattered offset letterpress text]; lower center, in graphite, by a later hand: B 36. III/c / 4th [?] / cut plate / c.13967

Wikidata ID

Q65024761

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