Nails are removed from the hand of a lifeless man on a wooden cross by another man on a ladder.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The body (Christ) is held up by a garment wrapped across the chest and over the cross, pulled by two men on the ground on the right, loosely sketched. Christ’s feet are attached to the cross with nails, knees bent. The man on the ladder uses a tool to remove the nail from the one hand, on the left, the other arm hangs down. Christ’s head slouches to the right, half in shadow. There are five sketched faces standing behind the ladder and cross, facing left. A detailed human skull and bone rest at the base of the cross.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
G3242
People
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Dutch (Leiden 1606 - 1669 Amsterdam)
Title
The Descent from the Cross: A Sketch
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1642
Places
Creation Place: Europe, Netherlands
Culture
Dutch
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/279721

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Eching and drypoint on white antique laid paper
Technique
Etching and drypoint
Dimensions
plate: 14.8 x 11.6 cm (5 13/16 x 4 9/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Signed: Rembrandt f.
  • inscription: in plate, l.r.: Rembrandt. f. 1642
  • collector's mark: verso, black stamp: Dr. / WA [linked] / Pr. [within a cricular border; Wilhelm August Ackermann (Lugt 791)]
  • watermark: l.l., cut off: Strasbourg bend [Hinterding v. 2, p. 183, A.a., unidentified twinmark, which he dates, pp. 270 and 377, to c. 1646]
  • collector's mark: verso, purple stamp with graphite numbering within: [Gray Collection accession stamp (Lugt 4835)] 3242

Provenance

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

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

State
only state
Standard Reference Number
New Hollstein 204, Bartsch 82, Hind 199, Rovinski 82

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of William Gray from the collection of Francis Calley Gray
Object Number
G3242
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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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