Outstanding Etching with engraving and drypoint, 1656. A very nice impression. Believed to be in Hollstein’s second or third state with full margins. Plate measures 197 by 148mm, 7¾ by 5 7/8 in and full sheet measures 11 1/4 x 9 1/4 inches. The work has been mounted to a matte board. Outer borders with some paper deterioration but no effects to the image. Scarce to find one that has not been trimmed to the border.
According to Rembrandt scholar, K.G. Boon:
“Portraits…are undisputed high points in Rembrandt’s graphic work. With each one Rembrandt so immersed himself in his subject’s pursuits that in addition to a portrait he also created a type of human being. With regard to Jan Lutma, the old goldsmith, Rembrandt’s typification of the artist is most pronounced in the head with its mild, brooding – and not a little sardonic – glance.”
According to New Hollstein, the second and third states are distinguished by the addition of the barely legible inscription “F. Lutma Ex.” in the densely worked area at lower right. It seems, however, that the inscription beside the sitter’s elbow, which appears in the second state, and the one underneath the table were added at the same time and that the two states are in fact identical. What we do know with certainty is that Francois Lutma’s address under the table had been added in Rembrandt’s lifetime, since the artist outlived Francois by five years.
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