Beggar Seated on a Bank by Rembrandt van Rijn

Rembrandt van Rijn
1606-1669 | Dutch

Beggar Seated on a Bank

Etching on paper
New Hollstein's first state of two
Signed and dated "RHL 1630" (lower center)

This remarkable 1630 etching represents one of Rembrandt's most intriguing autobiographical works, where the young master transforms himself into a street beggar with extraordinary form. Created when Rembrandt was only twenty-four and still establishing his career, this compelling composition demonstrates both his technical mastery of etching and his fearless approach to self-examination.

The composition presents a figure in ragged clothing and scraggly beard, his hand extended in supplication, yet the features are unmistakably those of the young Rembrandt himself. The artist's contracted brow and open mouth mirror expressions found in his contemporary self-portraits, particularly the Self Portrait Open Mouthed, as if Shouting from the same year. The etching technique demonstrates Rembrandt's growing mastery of the medium, with delicate line work capturing both the texture of worn fabric and the psychological intensity of the subject's expression.

The son of a miller, Rembrandt van Rijn is believed to have been born in Leiden on July 15, 1606. He studied first at the Latin School and was then enrolled at the University of Leiden at the age of 14. He soon left to study art—first with a local master, Jacob van Swanenburch, and then, in Amsterdam, with Pieter Lastman, known for his historical paintings. Rembrandt was an exceptionally gifted student and mastered his art in a mere six months. Now 22 years old, he returned to Leiden and was soon so highly regarded that he was able to take students of his own.

Now considered one of the greatest artists of all time, almost every major institution has examples of his etchings. Additional second-state etchings of this portrait reside in esteemed collections worldwide, including the National Gallery of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Princeton Art Museum and more.

Created 1630

Provenance:
Ex collection Roltz, inscribed and dated in pen and ink verso 1693
Colnaghi, London
Arthur H. Harlow & Co., New York
Private collection, The Netherlands
M.S. Rau, New Orleans

Literature:
Bartsch 174
White/Boon 174
The New Hollstein Dutch 50
Holm Bevers/Peter Schatborn/Barbara Welzel, Rembrandt: the Master & his Workshop, Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 1991, fig. 3a, p. 174
Christopher White & Quentin Buvelot, Rembrandt by himself, National Gallery Publications Limited, London, 1999, no. 24, p. 129
Erik Hinterding/Ger Luijten/Martin Royalton-Kisch, Rembrandt the Printmaker, Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago & London, 2000, no. 6, p. 93
Clifford S. Ackley, Rembrandt's Journey: Painter-Draftsman-Etcher, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 2003, no. 25, p. 91
Gary Schwartz, The Rembrandt Book, Harry N. Abrams, New York, 2006, no. 483, p. 289
Erik Hinterding, Rembrandt Etchings from the Frits Lugt Collection, Thoth Publishers, Bussum, 2008, no. 141, vol. II p. 158