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拍品专文
Diana at the Bath is one of the earliest of the great female nudes in Rembrandt's printed oeuvre, and one of the few of his prints based directly on a preparatory drawing. The sketch in black chalk with some brown wash, which concentrates on the figure, is today at the British Museum, London (Benesch 21). The sheet of the drawing has been covered on the reverse with black chalk and the outlines of the figure are indented, as they were presumably traced with a stylus and transferred directly onto the etching plate. It has been suggested that - in this instance and possibly a few others - Rembrandt had used a white etching ground, rather than a black or brown one, to make the transferred lines more visible (see Hinterding, 2008, no. 158, p. 364). In the drawing, the naked woman is identified as Diana by the arrow and quiver, which are quickly but clearly jotted down above her shoulder. Only the quiver remains in the print, and Rembrandt moved it close to her left hand, making it so inconspicuous that the subject of the print was not formally determined for a long time. As in the sketch, he left the body mostly white and unshaded, but elaborated the surroundings significantly by describing the foliage and the large tree trunk behind her, the garment she is sitting on and the heavy drapery to the right, which adds a certain historicizing grandeur to what would otherwise be a simple bathing scene. It seems that Rembrandt etched the plate at least twice to create a contrast between the heavily shaded areas and the lighter details and fine lines modelling her body. As a result, the plate wore quite quickly in certain areas and somewhat later impressions already look quite unbalanced. Very fine and early impressions such as the present - which comes with impeccable provenance - are hence very rare.
Rembrandt's ability to depict female nudes - or rather the models he chose and the way he depicted them - has not always been admired. At various times, this aspect of his art was viciously attacked from a classicist perspective, by critics who did not expect a goddess to look like the woman in Rembrandt's print. The Dutch poet Andries Pels wrote in 1681:
He chose no Greek Venus as his model
But rather a washerwoman or treader of peat from the barn
And called this whim 'imitation of nature'
Everything else to him was idle ornament.
Flabby breasts
Ill-shaped hands, nay, the traces of the lacings of the corsets on the stomach,
of the garters on the legs
Must be visible if natures was to get her due
This is his nature which would stand no rules.
(quoted in: White, 1999, p. 193)
We may not agree with the author's condemnation, but his assessment was certain true: Rembrandt was not interested in ideals of beauty and perfection, but in people and how life had shaped and marked their bodies and faces - be it beggars, preachers or middle-aged women.
Rembrandt's ability to depict female nudes - or rather the models he chose and the way he depicted them - has not always been admired. At various times, this aspect of his art was viciously attacked from a classicist perspective, by critics who did not expect a goddess to look like the woman in Rembrandt's print. The Dutch poet Andries Pels wrote in 1681:
He chose no Greek Venus as his model
But rather a washerwoman or treader of peat from the barn
And called this whim 'imitation of nature'
Everything else to him was idle ornament.
Flabby breasts
Ill-shaped hands, nay, the traces of the lacings of the corsets on the stomach,
of the garters on the legs
Must be visible if natures was to get her due
This is his nature which would stand no rules.
(quoted in: White, 1999, p. 193)
We may not agree with the author's condemnation, but his assessment was certain true: Rembrandt was not interested in ideals of beauty and perfection, but in people and how life had shaped and marked their bodies and faces - be it beggars, preachers or middle-aged women.