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A woman draped in robes and head covering holds a baby in her lap, her hands clasped in front.

The woman (Virgin Mary) is seated with her right knee up to form an incline for the baby to be upright. Her head leans toward the right, looking out, lips slightly parted, no smile. The baby (Christ Child) is awake, hands out, wrapped in a blanket with a placid face, and chubby cheeks. Light enters the scene from the top. There appears to be an upside-down human face sketched into the drapery on her left knee, possibly her reflection. The background is a suggestion of clouds with faint lines emanating from the Virgin and Child.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
G3232
People
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Dutch (Leiden 1606 - 1669 Amsterdam)
Title
Virgin and Child in the Clouds
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1641
Places
Creation Place: Europe, Netherlands
Culture
Dutch
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/279618

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Etching and drypoint on white antique laid paper
Technique
Etching and drypoint
Dimensions
plate: 16.7 x 10.6 cm (6 9/16 x 4 3/16 in.)
sheet: 17.1 × 11.2 cm (6 3/4 × 4 7/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: in plate, lower center: Rembrandt f./ 1641
  • watermark: WK [countermark, Hinterding v. 2, p. 96, WK'.a. There are many Rembrandts with this mark, which Hinterding, p. 402, dates to c.1652, as if at this time Remrbandt reeditioned many of his earlier plates.]
  • collector's mark: vreso, purple stamp with graphite number within: [Gray Collection accession stamp (4836)] 3232
  • inscription: verson, various graphite inscriptions: 1546 / No. 111

Provenance

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

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

State
i/ii or ii/ii
Standard Reference Number
New Hollstein 188, Bartsch 61, Hind 186, R. 61

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of William Gray from the collection of Francis Calley Gray
Object Number
G3232
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
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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