Christ Preaching (The Hundred Guilder Print)

c. 1643/1649

Rembrandt van Rijn

Artist, Dutch, 1606 - 1669

Printed with black lines and deep, velvety shading on white paper, a man, Jesus, stands at the center of a crowd of more than two dozen people, mostly adults and a few children, in this horizontal etching and drypoint. Jesus is left of center. He stands facing us, but he turns his head to look to our left. Rays of light emanate from behind his head against the towering cave opening that surrounds him. His curly hair falls long over his shoulders, and he holds both hands out. His eyes are lightly incised, giving them an almost blurred look. A crowd of people lie or kneel to our right. Some use crutches or walking sticks, and some are on carts. All the people appear to have pale skin except for one with darker-toned skin to the right in this gathering. That person has a rounded nose, full lips, and wears an earring that gleams brightly in the deep shadows. A camel stands at the far side of this group under an arched opening. The people standing and one person sitting close to Jesus to the left are fully shaded, and those farther left are lightly outlined and sparsely shaded so they appear to be much lighter on the white paper. Close to Jesus are a woman holding a baby, a seated, clean-shaven young man, and several bearded men. Most of those who are along the left edge of the sheet wear turbans or floppy caps.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching, drypoint and burin on European (white) paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of R. Horace Gallatin

  • Dimensions

    plate: 28 x 39.3 cm (11 x 15 1/2 in.)
    sheet: 28.2 x 39.5 cm (11 1/8 x 15 9/16 in.)

  • Accession

    1949.1.48

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    White/Boon 1969, no. 74, State ii/ii


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Knoedler & Co., New York); purchased 1926 by R. Horace Gallatin [1871 - 1948], New York; gift to NGA, 1949.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1969

  • Rembrandt in the National Gallery of Art [Commemorating the Tercentenary of the Artist's Death], National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1969, no. 44, 46-47, repro.

1985

  • Figure Prints from the National Gallery's Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1985-1986, no cat.

2006

  • Strokes of Genius: Rembrandt's Prints and Drawings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

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.

2000

  • Mishory, Alec. Art History: an Introduction. Tel-Aviv, 2000: 328, fig. 292, (as Jesus with the Sick).

Wikidata ID

Q65082088


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