Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn
The Three Crosses, second state, 1653
Rembrandt the Etcher at Museum of Fine Arts Boston The Museum of Fine Arts Boston (MFA) presents the exhibition ‘Rembrandt the Etcher: The Dialogue of Darkness and Light’, showcasing Rembrandt’s achievements as an etcher.
August 10, 2013–February 17, 2014.
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Source: The Museum of Fine Arts Boston (MFA)
Etching as a printmaking medium emerged in the early 16th century in Germany and Italy, but its full creative potential only was realized with Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn’s activity as an etcher from 1630 to 1661. The exhibition of 45 works, drawn primarily from the MFA’s collection, will explore the unprecedented range of subject matter, format, and graphic vocabulary in the nearly 300 etchings that Rembrandt made during his career.
Rembrandt (1606-1669) was the first etcher to seriously exploit the expressive effect of printing on different papers (the first Western artist to use Japanese paper, for example) to make radically different inkings of the same plate, and to dramatically alter the image on the plate. “Rembrandt the Etcher” examines how the artist’s etched images can be deliberately pale and delicate or consist of dense webs of profound darkness. They also can be rough sketches or highly finished, meticulously detailed compositions.
Among the works on view is Old and New Testaments narratives —some of the most insightful Biblical illustrations ever conceived— as well as self-portraits, landscapes, nudes, and scenes of everyday life. Presented with support from The Bruce and Laura Monrad Fund for Exhibitions.
Related content
Rembrandt’s World: Dutch Drawings from the Clement C. Moore Collection at the Morgan (exhibition, 2012)
Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait from Kenwood House in NY (exhibition, 2012)
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