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A thin man kneels on the floor, leaning right as another man stands behind him drawing back a sword.　

The kneeling man (John the Baptist) is barely dressed in a garment around his waist, his eyes are closed, his hands clasped together in a praying gesture in his lap. A fur garment lies in a heap near him in the foreground on the right, with a cross-like staff with ribbon lies on the floor, lower left. A crowd of people, including some officials, look on from the shadows at what’s about to happen, they stand in architectural space of repeating stone arches. A young servant from the royal court, awaits on the right, holding a platter.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
41.2000
People
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Dutch (Leiden 1606 - 1669 Amsterdam)
Title
The Beheading of John the Baptist
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1640
Culture
Dutch
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/177808

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Etching and drypoint on white antique laid paper
Technique
Etching and drypoint
Dimensions
plate: 12.9 x 10.4 cm (5 1/16 x 4 1/8 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: in plate, lower left: Rembrandt f: 1640
  • collector's mark: verso, black stamp: ALBERTINA / Veraussert [Albertina deaccession stamp (Lugt 5d)]
  • collector's mark: verso, blue stamp with graphite number within: [bicuspid shape] 00
  • collector's mark: verso, black stamp: C R H. [underlined; Carl and Rose Hirschler (Lugt 633a)]
  • inscription: verso, various graphite inscriptions: Heft [struck through] / Holl III 17 P. 75 . / B. 92. I. / 92 : 1

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna (L. 5d), auction sale, 1922. see 5d text for 'Veraussert' stamp use
Carl and Rose Hirschler, Haarlem, The Netherlands (L. 633a)

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

State
i/iii
Standard Reference Number
New Hollstein 183, Bartsch 92, Hind 171 i/ii

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Anonymous Loan in honor of Jakob Rosenberg
Object Number
41.2000
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
Pale diagonal markings in the center of the composition are probably transfers from the texture of twill blankets used in printing. The biting of the plate was very shallow, and perhaps Rembrandt used less pressure than usual in printing.

Exhibition History

  • Africans in Black and White: Images of Blacks in 16th- and 17th-Century Prints, W. E .B. Du Bois Institute, Rudenstine Gallery, Cambridge, 09/02/2010 - 12/03/2010

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