Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn

A very fine, rich and clear impression of New Hollstein's rare first state (of four), printing with much burr (the spot of burr in the white space beneath the stretcher pole at the lower left denotes an especially early impression), great depth and dramatic contrasts and inky plate edges; with small margins around the platemark. Listed in Nowell-Usticke with the note "fine impression much sought after." Comparing this depiction with the "Descent from the Cross" of 1633 reveals how effectively and precisely Rembrandt employs his printing techniques here. The action is concentrated in a group of helpers depicted in the upper left half of the image. Slowly and deliberately, they take the dead Christ down from the cross. The blackness of the sheet heightens the emotional expression, reinforced by the hand of the grieving woman reaching upward. This blackness is not created by drypoint retouching, but by superimposed etched hatching. – Paper slightly time-stained; verso marks from a previous mounting in the corners, otherwise in very good condition.