A man and woman with a pre-adolescent boy between them walk holding hands in a landscape, traveling towards the right.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The woman (Mary) dressed in robes, head covering, and sandals on left, her head in three-quarter profile looks toward the ground, as if listening to the boy (Christ). Christ is in the center, wearing a simple robe and barefoot, his face looks up to the left, beyond his mother. The man (Joseph) clasps Christ left hand and a staff in his right. He also wears robes, his face in shadow from a wide brimmed hat. A small dog runs beside them by Joseph’s staff. There’s a suggestion of a mountainous landscape, winding dirt road, with distant village.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
G3231
People
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Dutch (Leiden 1606 - 1669 Amsterdam)
Title
Christ and His Parents Returning from the Temple
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1654
Places
Creation Place: Europe, Netherlands
Culture
Dutch
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/279610

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Etching and drypoint with plate tone on white antique laid paper
Technique
Etching and drypoint
Dimensions
plate: 9.5 x 14.4 cm (3 3/4 x 5 11/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: in plate, l.r.: Rembrandt [f] 1654
  • collector's mark: verso, purple stamp: H W [Hermann Weber (Lugt 1383)]
  • collector's mark: verso, purple stamp with graphite number within: [Gray Collection accession stamp (Lugt 4836)] 3231
  • inscription: verso, various graphite inscriptions: g [or 9 or 5] / [double loop]. 64 / [check mark and illeg inscr.] / No 64

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
H. Weber.
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 276, Bartsch 60, Hind 278, R. 60

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of William Gray from the collection of Francis Calley Gray
Object Number
G3231
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