119

Rembrandt van Rijn

(1606-1669)

Self Portrait Leaning on a Stone Sill.

Etching and drypoint, 1639.
Biörklund's second state (of 2), with the cap band completed; Usticke's second state (i) (of 3); New Hollstein's second state (of 2).Trimmed within the plate mark at the upper edge and on the plate mark at the right edge, otherwise with thread margins. A very good impression of this extremely scarce etching. Bartsch 21; Biörklund 39-E; New Hollstein 171.
Plate: 8 x 6 3/8 in. (20.1 x 16.2 cm.)
Frame: 15 1/2 x 13 1/4 in. (39.4 x 33.7 cm.)

  • Notes:
    "In this, Rembrandt's most detailed etched self-portrait, he is dressed in Renaissance costume. He drew inspiration from Titian's painting, the so-called Portrait of Ariosto, which in Rembrandt's day was in the Amsterdam collection of Alfonso Lopez . . . But in 1639 he also saw Raphael's portrait of Baldassare Castiglione, now in the Louvre, when it was auctioned in Amsterdam and purchased by Lopez for 3,500 guilders," (Luijten/Royalton-Kisch, Rembrandt the Printmaker, London, 2000, pp. 166-69).

    According to Usticke, "Very scarce--a most desirable portrait (RR-)."
  • Condition:
    Please contact the Specialist for the auction to request a condition report.

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October 30, 2025 10:30 AM EDT
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