Live Auction 7534Old Master Prints
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn
Lot 248

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn

Lieven Willemsz. van Coppenol, Writing-Master: Large Plate (B., Holl. 283; H. 300)

Closed4 December 2007

Price Realised

GBP 8,750

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Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn
Lieven Willemsz. van Coppenol, Writing-Master: Large Plate (B., Holl. 283; H. 300)
etching with drypoint, 1658, a good though later impression of the fifth state (of six), watermark Auvergne (Hinterding, Miscellaneous F-c-a/b), trimmed just within the platemark but outside the borderline, a skillfully repaired short tear in the curtain, a soft diagonal crease through the right shoulder and arm of the sitter, a soft crease at the lower left sheet corner, some minor skinning and discoloration at the sheet corners on the reverse, otherwise in good condition, framed
S. 340 x 288 mm.

J. McGowan (L. 1496).
R. Busch (L. 2190).
P. Gellatly (L. 1185).

Specialist note

Lieven Willemz. van Coppenol is the largest etched portrait Rembrandt made. The sitter, a friend of the artist, initially ran the Ecole Française in Amsterdam. Following a bout of mental illness Coppenol retired and became a professional caligrapher, hence the quill nib and large sheet of paper. Rembrandt's portrayal is supposedly true to nature, with his round face and portly figure over which his robes are stretched.