The Descent from the Cross: Second Plate

Prints and Drawings

1633

Rembrandt van Rijn
Dutch, 1606-1669

Rembrandt’s Descent from the Cross is stylistically unusual and reproductive, unlike most of his prints, which were original designs rather than printed paintings. Rembrandt’s original oil was strongly influenced by an altarpiece of the same subject by Peter Paul Rubens. While Rembrandt likely had a hand in the making of this particular print, he was relatively inexperienced with printmaking on such a large scale, and therefore enlisted the help of engraver Jan van Vliet. This collaboration can be seen in Rembrandt’s spontaneous line and van Vliet’s heavy mechanical handling, particularly in terms of the facial expressions.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: Rembrandt van Rijn
Title: The Descent from the Cross: Second Plate
Place: Holland (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1633
Medium: Etching and burin on ivory laid paper
Dimensions: Image: 51.2 × 40.5 cm (20 3/16 × 16 in.); Sheet trimmed within platemark: 52 × 40.5 cm (20 1/2 × 16 in.)
Credit Line: Clarence Buckingham Collection
Reference Number: 1938.1755
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/29116/manifest.json

Hind 103 II/V

Rovinskii 81 III/IV

Seidlitz 81 II/VI

Biörklund 33-C

White & Boon 81(II)

Middleton 187

Bartsch 81

Munz 198

New Hollstein 119 II/VIII

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