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拍品专文
This impression of the painter Jan Asselijn is notable for the firm warm-toned Japanese paper on which it is printed. Up until around 1647 Rembrandt had only printed on European papers. From the late 1640s onwards, he began to experiment with printmaking techniques, with drypoint, plate tone, as well as printing on different types of paper and even vellum. Such unusual and costly supports were usually reserved for proofs of early states cherished by the most sophisticated collectors and ‘can rightly be regarded as de-luxe editions’ (Hinterding, 2006, p. 114-115). Japanese and Chinese papers, in the past often referred to as 'Indian; as they were brought to Amsterdam on the ships of the Dutch East India Company, were rare and expensive, even in their country of origin. For example, the plant used for the manufacturing of a certain type of Japanese paper could not be cultivated but only harvested in the wild. The smooth, warm texture of this paper, and its different absorbency, resulted in softer, slightly ethereal printing effects, especially when combined with the use of drypoint and surface tone.
Lifetime impressions of the portrait of Jan Asselijn are among the earliest examples of Rembrandt’s use of oriental papers. Asselijn was a Dutch landscape painter who had worked in Rome, where his Dutch fellow-painters gave him the rather insensitive nickname ‘Krabbetje’ (little crab), referring to a malformation of his left hand. It is Rembrandt's first printed portrait of another artist, created soon after Asselijn had returned to Holland. Rembrandt depicted him elegantly dressed in a confident pose, with his misshapen hand discreetly hidden, resting on his hip. On the table at left, we see his attributes as a painter, a palette and some brushes, as well as some books to demonstrate his learning. In the first state, an easel with an Italianate landscape stood behind the painter, but was soon removed in the subsequent state. The present impression of the second state of seven, with the blank background, does not show, unlike other impressions of this state, remnants of the burnished-out easel and painting around the sitter's head. According to Hinterding and Rutgers ‘it is unclear if these traces of the easel wear away gradually in later impressions or if these were removed by burnishing’. It seems unlikely to us that these traces have worn away, as the impression does not appear worn at all, but it may well be that they were in fact removed by additional burnishing. Another possibility is that Rembrandt inked and wiped the plate very carefully before, to prevent these impurities from showing.
Lifetime impressions of the portrait of Jan Asselijn are among the earliest examples of Rembrandt’s use of oriental papers. Asselijn was a Dutch landscape painter who had worked in Rome, where his Dutch fellow-painters gave him the rather insensitive nickname ‘Krabbetje’ (little crab), referring to a malformation of his left hand. It is Rembrandt's first printed portrait of another artist, created soon after Asselijn had returned to Holland. Rembrandt depicted him elegantly dressed in a confident pose, with his misshapen hand discreetly hidden, resting on his hip. On the table at left, we see his attributes as a painter, a palette and some brushes, as well as some books to demonstrate his learning. In the first state, an easel with an Italianate landscape stood behind the painter, but was soon removed in the subsequent state. The present impression of the second state of seven, with the blank background, does not show, unlike other impressions of this state, remnants of the burnished-out easel and painting around the sitter's head. According to Hinterding and Rutgers ‘it is unclear if these traces of the easel wear away gradually in later impressions or if these were removed by burnishing’. It seems unlikely to us that these traces have worn away, as the impression does not appear worn at all, but it may well be that they were in fact removed by additional burnishing. Another possibility is that Rembrandt inked and wiped the plate very carefully before, to prevent these impurities from showing.