The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 11, 2023

Christ Preaching ('La Petite Tombe')

c. 1652

Rembrandt van Rijn

(Dutch, 1606–1669)

Netherlands

Etching, drypoint, and burin

Support: Cream(3) laid paper

Sheet: 15.8 x 21 cm (6 1/4 x 8 1/4 in.); Platemark: 15.5 x 20.7 cm (6 1/8 x 8 1/8 in.)

Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland in honor of William Mathewson Milliken 1958.306

Catalogue raisonné: Hollstein 67 (XVIII.34); Hinterding et al. 2000 68

Location

not on view

Description

Rembrandt’s prints with biblical subject matter often focus on Christ’s relationships with ordinary people. Here, he depicted Christ preaching in a humble village, with onlookers ranging from distracted children to turbaned merchants. Rembrandt worked more prolifically in etching than any artist before him, using it for about 300 prints. This work demonstrates the draftsman-like, sketchy technique he brought to the medium. In this impression, he allowed ink to remain on the plate’s surface during printing to create the dramatic shadows in the background, producing a contrast to the spiritual glow of light emanating from Christ.

Inscriptions

Inscription

VERSO, lower left, in pen and brown ink: R [scribble] 1749 ; lower center, in graphite: + 15[sideways]

Citations
Cleveland Museum of Art, “Rembrandt Print Given to Museum,” May 29, 1958, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
Prasse, Leona E. “‘Christ Preaching’ by Rembrandt Van Rijn.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 46, no. 3 (March 1959): 44–47. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 44-46 www.jstor.org
Benesch, Otto. “A Drawing by Rembrandt from His Last Years.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 50, no. 3 (March 1963): 43–45. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 45, fig. 5 www.jstor.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 123 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 123 archive.org
Milliken, William Mathewson. “Gifts to the Cleveland Museum of Art.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 61, no. 10 (December 1974): 371–383. Reproduced: p. 380 www.jstor.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 159 archive.org
Exhibition history

Rembrandt Prints. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI (organizer) (October 23-November 20, 1960).

Prints and Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 6-September 9, 1965).

The Print Club of Cleveland, 1919 - 1969: Fifty Years in Review. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 14-March 31, 1970).

Rembrandt After 300 Years. The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (organizer) (February 25-April 5, 1970).

Eight Masters of the Print. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 14, 1980-January 18, 1981).

Prints by Rembrandt and His Circle. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 24-May 25, 1984).

Generous Donors: A Tribute to The Print Club of Cleveland. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 2-August 4, 1991).

A Lasting Impression: Gifts of the Print Club of Cleveland. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 5-September 22, 2019).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1958.306