Live Auction 11965Fifty Prints by Rembrandt van Rijn A Private English Collection
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn
Lot 14

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn

A bearded Man wearing a Velvet Cap with a Jewel Clasp

Closed5 July 2016

Price Realised

GBP 22,500

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Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn
A bearded Man wearing a Velvet Cap with a Jewel Clasp
etching, 1637, on laid paper, without watermark, a fine impression of New Hollstein's only state, with thread margins, in very good condition
Plate 96 x 83 mm., Sheet 97 x 85 mm.

Sotheby's, London, 21 November 1961, lot 162 (to Colnaghi on commission).
With Colnaghi, London.
Acquired from the above, 28 February 1962 (£105).

Specialist note

The present work is an example of the delight Rembrandt took in depicting a wide range of different textures. Celebrated for his understanding of light and shade, his ability to evoke different surfaces is equally impressive and plays an important role in particular in his earlier works. This portrait brings together a variety of materials and textures: the fur of the collar, the sitter's beard and skin, the velvet of the cap and the gemstone in the jewel clasp. These subtle effects can only be appreciated fully in fine early impressions such as the present one, which are rare, as the plate wore quickly.

The present impression is perhaps a little weaker than the brilliant Cracherode impression in the British Museum.