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The Artist Drawing from the Model

ca. 1639
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Numerous issues are raised by this fascinating but incomplete image that points so directly to the theme of making art. A surviving drawing suggests that Rembrandt had ideas about completing this print, but he never took it past this second state. Nonetheless, we can conclude that he was beguiled by its strong contrasts of light and dark, finished and unfinished. The etching circulated during Rembrandt’s lifetime, perhaps a case of the accidentally unfinished proving a great success.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Artist Drawing from the Model
  • Artist: Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) (Dutch, Leiden 1606–1669 Amsterdam)
  • Date: ca. 1639
  • Medium: Etching and drypoint on paper
  • Dimensions: 9 1/8 × 7 1/4 in. (23.2 × 18.4 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, RvR 270
  • Rights and Reproduction: © The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art