By Kahren Jones Arbitman
Many people are surprised to learn that Rembrandt’s etchings, not his paintings,
were responsible for the international reputation he enjoyed during his lifetime.
When in 1660 the great Italian painter Guercino remarked, “I frankly consider
him to be a great virtuoso,” he was referring to the Dutchman’s prints. The
extraordinarily high regard Rembrandt’s contemporaries had for his etchings was understandable,
for in less than four decades he had pushed the relatively new medium to its expressive
limits. While later printmakers tried to coax more from their etchings by altering
the process, attacking the plate with new tools, and printing on unexpected surfaces,
no one ever achieved greater results than Rembrandt attained with a simple etching
needle and copper plates.
Etchings are created by drawing with a needle onto a resin-coated plate. When
the plate is immersed in acid, the needle lines are cut, or etched, into the plate.
Technically, producing an etching is not unlike creating a drawing. As a consummate
draftsman whose extant drawings number in the thousands, Rembrandt was naturally
attracted to this spontaneous approach to printmaking. His first etching dates to
1625, the year of his earliest known painting; his last was created in 1665, four
years before his death.
Rembrandt’s genius as an etcher lies in his recognition that this medium responds
best to the light touch of a draftsman, not the heavy hand of a professional printmaker.
Using the etching needle like a paintbrush or pen, Rembrandt created lines which
spontaneously flowed in varying thicknesses across his plates. Not content with the
traditional system of hatching and cross-hatching, Rembrandt employed every sort
of scratch, dash and fleck to create nuances of texture and tone. Rembrandt also
experimented with the darkness of his lines. He achieved tonal variations by immersing
some lines longer in the acid bath, so that they were “bitten” more deeply.
The deeper the lines, the more ink they hold and the darker they print. Seeking even
greater tonal variation, Rembrandt explored the effects of drypoint. Drypoint lines,
which are scratched directly into the surface of the soft copper plate, hold more
ink and print more darkly and richly than their etched counterparts. His judicious
use of drypoint created the velvety black textures and impenetrable shadows he sought.
Because of Rembrandt’s combination of etching and drypoint on a single plate, the
number of quality sheets obtainable from each plate was limited. While an etched
plate could yield about 100 prints before unavoidable signs of wear set in, the number
of first-rate sheets obtainable from a plate containing drypoint could be as few
as 15. Not unexpectedly, the finest Rembrandt prints-fresh and vibrant, with rich
pools of black ink clinging to the drypoint lines-are rare. They are objects of exceptional
beauty, and are often unique works of art despite being created by a reproductive
process.
Using the term “unique” to refer to a print which exists in more than one
example may seem inaccurate, but when referring to Rembrandt’s etchings, it appears
justifiable. While most 17th-century artists handed over the task of printing their
plates to professionals, Rembrandt often did the job himself. This allowed him to
alter the process to create prints that, while pulled from the same plate, were not
identical. Rembrandt’s choice of paper, from common European white paper to thin,
absorbent, ivory-yellow or light grey paper from Japan, resulted in remarkable differences
in the individual prints. Similar variations occurred when Rembrandt inked his plates
with more or less ink, or wiped the plate in ways which left ink on the surface to
print as a continuous tone.
Rembrandt’s etching style was as variable as his technique. His first accomplished
etchings from the early 1630s are exuberant Baroque compositions with dazzling lighting
effects. By the end of the decade, however, his mastery of the medium eased his dependence
on this flamboyant style. In the 1640s Rembrandt’s etched forms became simpler, and
by 1650 the early curvilinear forms yielded completely to stable, block-like structures.
Compositions were organized into receding parallel layers. Minute details, which
in earlier etchings displayed his virtuosity, disappeared in favor of an emphasis
on overall structure. Harmony and balance prevailed. In most cases, the later etchings
were smaller in format, sparer in detail and focused on the interrelationship of
a handful of protagonists. In his last works, Rembrandt used emphatic lines to capture
the spirituality of a religious scene or the personality of a sitter.
Rembrandt’s unsurpassed mastery of the medium, apparent in his technical innovations
and stylistic advancements, extends to the breadth of his subjects. In fact, more
than any other contemporary printmaker, Rembrandt captured on his small etched plates
the remarkable quality of life in 17th-century Amsterdam. Landscapes, genre scenes
and portraits flowed from his etching needle. Despite the brilliance of these subjects,
his genius as a printmaker is nowhere more apparent than in his etched “Histories”-depictions
of scenes from the Bible, mythology and ancient history. Surrounded, even nurtured,
by a religious ambiance that included Jews, Mennonites and Calvinists of every stripe,
Rembrandt created etchings that captured as never before or since, the phenomenon
of human interaction with the divine.
Although early compilations of Rembrandt’s etchings list about 350 works, recent
research has reduced this number to around 290. Within these hundreds of etchings
lies such breadth of technical inventiveness, stylistic finesse and insightful narrative,
that succeeding generations continue to add their accolades to that offered by Guercino
over three centuries ago.
Kahren Jones Arbitman is executive director of The Cummer Museum of Art &
Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida. Previously she was director of the Palmer Museum
of Art at Penn State and curator of The Frick Art Museum in Pittsburgh. A scholar
of 17th-century Dutch art, Arbitman has published books, catalogues and articles
on the subject and lectured nationally and internationally.
Kahren Jones Arbitman will deliver a lecture, “The Sources for Rembrandt
and Rembrandt as a Source,” Friday, June 6, at 6:00 p.m. in the Museum of Art
Theater. The lecture is free with museum admission. For information on additional
exhibition-related events, see the Carnegie Calendar in this issue.
