319. Faustus [1652; 17th-18th century run]

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319. Faustus [1652; 17th-18th century run]

Rembrandt van Rijn

1606, Leiden - 1669, Amsterdam

Estimate:

EUR 9.000 - 16.000

Not sold

etching, needle engraving and chisel etching, 21 x 16 cm, 16x21

Notes

marca colecţiei P. Davidsohn (Lugt 654) şi anul 1882, cu peniţa în cerneală brună.

PROVENANCE

early 20th century, the collection of Paul Davidsohn (1839-1927), collector, merchant, associate of the British Museum, sold in 1920 in Leipzig.

The engraving made by Rembrandt in 1652 is one of the most analysed and debated images created by the artist in his entire work. Without the annotations and a title given by the artist, art historians have constantly tried to decipher this complex picture since as early as the end of the 17th century. The first interpretation, typical of the past centuries, was to be given in the 1670s by Clement de Jonghe, a contemporary and collector of Rembrandt, who entitled it "The Practical Alchemist." The picture presents a wise man/an alchemist in his study, but the intriguing element is undoubtedly the "apparition" at the window and the three magical circles starting from the INRI Christian tetragram and ending outward with the anagramation of TETRAGRAM GRAAL SATAN (God, Holy Grail/Ideal, Satan). The interior of the study presents the symbolism known for the presentation of the individuality and the practices of a wise man: the Earth globe, the human skull (Vanitas), the papers and documents. At the beginning of the 18th century the engraving received a new interpretation, being entitled "Doctor Faustus" in 1731 by Valerius Röver (1686-1739), a title that has since been used in the history of art as the most relevant one. Rembrandt would certainly have known the tragedy written by Christopher Marlowe and performed in Amsterdam in 1650.

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