Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn - Clement de Jonghe, Printseller (B., Holl. 272; H. 251)

Lot 244. Etching with drypoint and engraving, 1651, a very good impression of the fifth state (of six), the shadow thrown by the brim of the hat across the face particularly effective and atmospheric, with subtly wiped highlights to the collar and gauntlets, with thread margins, a pale brown stain to the right of the hat, with the Gersaint number in pen and ink on the reverse, also inscribed quatrièmme épreuve, in very good condition, framed. P., S. 210 x 163 mm. Estimate: £18,000-25,000

Note : By the 1650's Rembrandt had abandoned the elaborate technical devices of his earlier portraits in favour of a simpler, more monumental style. Here, unusually, the subject is presented frontally, rather than the favoured three-quarters view, enveloped in a cloak defined in a few broad, heavy folds. The pose is informal, giving the impression that the sitter has just dropped by the studio momentarily. A high-backed chair lends stability and classical balance to the composition, but Rembrandt ensures that the overall effect is relaxed by having the sitter lean to the left, rather then depicting him dead-centre. The artist also eschews complex patterning for relatively open and loose line work. In the later states Rembrandt subtly changed the psychological characterisation of the subject by adding drypoint and burin to deepen the shadows, especially on the right side of the sitter's face, his hat and his eyes.
A prominent Amsterdam printseller with a shop on the Kalverstraat, Clement de Jonghe does not appear to have had an extensive business relationship with Rembrandt. However, he was a keen collector of his work, and the inventory taken at the time of his death constituted the first significant catalogue of Rembrandt's graphic oeuvre. Many of the traditional titles of his prints were first recorded in this document.

Christie's. Old Master Prints.  December 2007. 8 King Street, St James's, London