View of Amsterdam from the Kadjik

Details

Bartsch 210; White/Boon 210; Hinterding/Rutgers (The New Hollstein) 203.

Description

Splendid, very beautiful and early print of the only state, the landscape printed strongly and clearly and with a velvety ridged effect in the reeds in the foreground. With a fine margin on two sides, cut to the plate edge at the top and right. In this view of Amsterdam, Rembrandt achieves extraordinary depth despite the very low horizon. The artist places the reeds and other plants that grow along the canal and the footpath prominently in the foreground, while the city appears minute in the distance. The tallest reed is as tall as the city’s tallest tower, the Oude Kerk. Eric Hinterding describes the recognizable landmarks from left to right: “the Haringspakkertoren, the Oude Kerk, the Montelbaanstoren, the warehouses and jetties of the Dutch East India Company and the mill at the bulwark Het Rijzenhoofd” (Hinterding, Lugt Collection, no. 165, p . 284). The fact that the panorama is depicted in a mirror image may indicate that Rembrandt drew it directly onto the plate on the spot. Had he started from a prepared drawing, it seems plausible that he would have transferred the drawing to the plate so that it could be printed the right way up. – With some small, isolated foxmarks. The paper abraded in the upper margin on the reverse, otherwise a fine impression. Rare!