Christ preaching (La petite tombe)

Highlight of the upcoming print auction

Christ Teaching (La petite tombe), Lot 453
Etching, burin and drypoint on laid paper (circa 1657)
15.1 × 20.8 cm (sheet size)

A masterpiece of enduring intensity: Rembrandt’s ‘Christ Teaching’, later mistakenly known as La petite tombe, reveals the full technical and emotional range of the artist in printmaking.

The print presented here is an exceptionally fine, rich and warm early print. The tonal gradations are of great subtlety and depth, giving the sheet an impressive liveliness.

The depiction is simple and convincingly rendered. Rembrandt focuses on the central group around Christ and the sermon. The people listen quietly and thoughtfully to Christ on a platform. Each of the listeners is individually characterised by their clothing, posture and expression. Their attention is further emphasised by the inattentive child in the foreground, who is lost in thought as he draws in the sand.

The composition, with its parallel architectural backdrop and evenly distributed figures, is influenced by Raphael’s fresco ‘The School of Athens’ in the Vatican’s Stanze. At that time, Rembrandt was intensively studying Italian Renaissance art through printmaking.

The title La petite tombe is based on a misinterpretation: in the inventory of the estate of Clement de Jonghe, an important printer of Rembrandt’s, the plate was noted as ‘het Latombisch printje’. Edmé-François Gersaint mistakenly translated this as ‘La petite tombe’ in 1751, although the sheet does not show a funeral scene. Today, it is believed that the original note referred to Nicolaes or Pieter de la Tombe, who may have commissioned the print.

Provenance:

• Nicolas Vassiliévitch Basnine (1843–1918), Moscow, verso with collector’s stamp (Lugt 1960);
• Nikolai Semyonovich Mosolov (1847–1914), Moscow, verso with handwritten collector’s note (Lugt 1802).

Estimate: 80,000/ € 100,000

As announced in the print catalogue (page 166), Katharina Wieland, head of the print department, will personally present Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn’s print in an expert video.