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The Shell

A work made of etching on ivory laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of etching on ivory laid paper.

Date:

1650

Artist:

Rembrandt van Rijn
Dutch, 1606-1669

About this artwork

In the 17th century, seashells became popular collectible objects because they were considered rare and exotic. They also became common subjects for still-life paintings known as Vanitas, which symbolically represent the transience of life. The etchings of both Wenceslaus Hollar and Rembrandt van Rijn could represent the simultaneous beauty and fragility of existence. While still lifes in general are exceedingly rare in Rembrandt’s work, Hollar’s etching (1996.609) comes from a series of seashells, consisting of 38 plates. Rembrandt’s shell could have been inspired by Hollar’s work, though Rembrandt’s decision to render the shell in a three-dimensional space represents a marked difference between the two etchings.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Rembrandt van Rijn

Title

The Shell

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.

1650

Medium

Etching on ivory laid paper

Dimensions

Plate: 9.7 × 13.2 cm (3 7/8 × 5 1/4 in.); Sheet: 9.9 × 13.4 cm (3 15/16 × 5 5/16 in.)

Credit Line

Clarence Buckingham Collection

Reference Number

1938.1805

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/29253/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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