Add to Collection

Add this item to an existing or new collection.
Harvard Art Museums
Incorrect Username, Email, or Password
An older man with long white beard is surrounded by three figures all seated outside the doorway of a home.

The older man (Abraham) holds a chalice in his left hand while motioning with his right hand to a basket of flat breads, center bottom. There are two winged males on each side of him, a third older bearded man sits on far right, holding a pitcher; they all glance at the basket. A young boy is behind them, leaning over a short stone wall with bow and arrow, his face in profile, back to viewer. An older woman on left peers from behind the wooden door in shadow. The background is a sketch of thick leafy trees.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
G3223
People
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Dutch (Leiden 1606 - 1669 Amsterdam)
Title
Abraham Entertaining the Three Angels
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1656
Culture
Dutch
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/279633

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Etching and drypoint on white antique laid paper
Technique
Etching and drypoint
Dimensions
plate: 16 x 13.2 cm (6 5/16 x 5 3/16 in.)
sheet: 16.2 × 13.4 cm (6 3/8 × 5 1/4 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • collector's mark: verso, lower left: E. F. [encircled] [E. Faesch, Lugt 846]
  • collector's mark: verso, lower left, black ink: Dr. / WA / Pr. [encircled] [Wilhelm August Ackermann, Lugt 791]
  • inscription: verso, center, graphite: B29.
  • inscription: verso, lower left, graphite: f220 [illeg.] / An [obscured by stamp] / -
  • inscription: verso, lower left, graphite: B29
  • inscription: verso, bottom center, black ink: E. Faesch
  • inscription: verso, lower right, graphite: [illeg.]
  • inscription: in plate, l.l.: Rembrandt f. 1656.
  • inscription: verso, graphite, along side edge: E.H.G. [Edward Hale Greenleaf; late 19th c. Gray Collection inventory]
  • collector's mark: verso, purple stamp with graphite number: [Gray Collection accession stamp, Lugt 4836] 3223

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
E. Faesch (L. 846), probably sold; to Dr. Wilhelm August Ackermann (L. 791), Lubeck and Dresden, sold; [through his sale, Dresden, March 29, 1953, lot 610], probably; to Francis Galley Gray, bequest; to William Gray, his nephew, 1856, gift; to Harvard University, 1857.

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

State
only state
Standard Reference Number
New Hollstein 295, Bartsch 29, Hind 286, Rovinski 29

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of William Gray from the collection of Francis Calley Gray
Object Number
G3223
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

Publication History

  • Les Marques de Collections de Dessins & d'Estampes, website, Fondation Custodia, 2015, under L. 846
  • Stephanie Schrader, ed., Rembrandt and the Inspiration of India, exh. cat., J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles, 2018), pp. 53, 107, 135, repr. p. 107 as plate 32

Exhibition History

  • Rembrandt: A Selection of his Works, Busch-Reisinger Museum, Cambridge, 10/18/1984 - 12/11/1984
  • Rembrandt and the Inspiration of India, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 03/13/2018 - 06/24/2018

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