A black and white print portrays a dead man being taken down from the cross on which he was killed.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

holds one end of a long, light-colored piece of drapery that is wrapped under the deceased man. Two more men, standing on their toes, reach up to catch the deceased man. To the left of the cross stands a man wearing a tunic, embroidered robe, and turban. He stands in profile and rests his right hand on a walking stick. To the right, two woman and man seen from behind sit next to an outstretched rug next to the cross. A small crowd of people stand behind them, looking up at the cross. The sky is dark but a cluster of light rays bisects the scene, stretching from the upper right edge down to the middle-ground of the scene and behind the cross.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
G3241
People
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Dutch (Leiden 1606 - 1669 Amsterdam)
Etched and engraved basis for the composition by Jan Joris van Vliet, Dutch (c. 1610 - 1670)
Title
The Descent from the Cross: Second Plate
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1633
Places
Creation Place: Europe, Netherlands
Culture
Dutch
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/279624

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Etching and engraving on white antique laid paper
Technique
Etching and engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 53.2 × 40.1 cm (20 15/16 × 15 13/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: in plate, lower margin, center: Rembrandt. f: cum pryvli. .1633.
  • drawing: verso, lower portion, graphite: The image is a sketch of a landscape with a lake and mountain. It is oriented with its base running along the right side of the verso, below what was obviously a long-standing fold. Apparently the print was mounted in an album, folded back upon itself, and the blank expanse of its verso was used for the drawing.
  • collector's mark: verso, purple stamp with graphite numbering within: [Gray Collection accession stamp (Lugt 4836)] 3241
  • inscription: verso, graphite: E. H. G. [Edward Hale Greenleaf; late 19th-c. inventory of the Gray Collection]
  • inscription: verso, on the lower left corner of the paper strip, probably the remains of an old album mount, adhered around all edges: gg [?]
  • watermark: IHP [Hinterding v. 2, p. 153, A.zz., unidentified sub-variant, meaning that he had not seen it. A version of this mark appears on several large plates, notably the first plate of the Descent from the Cross that he dates to 1633-35.]

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Francis Calley Gray, bequest to nephew, 1856.
William Gray, gift to Harvard University, 1857.

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

State
ii/viii
Standard Reference Number
New Hollstein 119, Bartsch 81, Hind 103, Rovinsky 81

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of William Gray from the collection of Francis Calley Gray
Object Number
G3241
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Michael Cole, ed., The Early Modern Painter-Etcher, Pennsylvania State University Press (University Park, PA, 2006), repr. as fig. 20 on p.24 [not Harvard impression, related bibliography]

Exhibition History

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu