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Lot Essay
For Clifford Ackley, this ‘image involves one of the most radical conceptions of the “light of divine revelation” in Rembrandt’s work.’ (Ackley, 2003, p. 229). Of his prints investigating the depiction of light and shade, it is certainly the most daring, alongside some impressions of The Entombment (see lot 25), yet in the opposite sense. If in the latter he tried emulate absolute darkness, Christ appearing to the Apostles is his attempt to depict a blinding, supernatural light.
Both in the sequence of biblical events and in the chronology of Rembrandt’s printed oeuvre, this print of 1656 follows on from Christ at Emmaus: the larger Plate (see lot 26). The two disciples to whom the risen Christ appeared on their way to Emmaus have returned to Jerusalem, where the remaining disciples and followers are hiding in a house for fear of prosecution. As the two disciples relate their encounter to the others, Christ appears again.
And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? (Luke 24:33-38)
We see the scene at the moment of Christ’s sudden appearance, in a flash of divine light. But Rembrandt did not just indicate the rays of light emanating from His head, nor did he darken the surrounding space to create contrast and make the light stand out. In fact, there is very little shading, as his intention was to make the light penetrate the entire room. The figures gathered around the tall figure of Christ are described with sparse, cursory, interrupted lines, leaving large areas within the figures blank. Some have fallen on their knees, others are turning away, most have their eyes closed or even covered, to protect them from the glaring light of the apparition. The only solid shapes in this room are the chair at left and the bench at right, while the figures are tenuous, immaterial.
As Nicholas Stogdon points out, the impression is slipped, in particular at left where many lines are double-printing. Remarkably, this phenomenon occurs often in examples of this print, and it is likely that, rather than being a printing defect, it is intentional. It seems that Rembrandt deliberately made the plate wobble in the printing to further heighten the ephemeral effects of the plate. It may not be without spiritual significance that, as a result, the figure of Christ is the most substantial, while all others are mere spectres.
Both in the sequence of biblical events and in the chronology of Rembrandt’s printed oeuvre, this print of 1656 follows on from Christ at Emmaus: the larger Plate (see lot 26). The two disciples to whom the risen Christ appeared on their way to Emmaus have returned to Jerusalem, where the remaining disciples and followers are hiding in a house for fear of prosecution. As the two disciples relate their encounter to the others, Christ appears again.
And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? (Luke 24:33-38)
We see the scene at the moment of Christ’s sudden appearance, in a flash of divine light. But Rembrandt did not just indicate the rays of light emanating from His head, nor did he darken the surrounding space to create contrast and make the light stand out. In fact, there is very little shading, as his intention was to make the light penetrate the entire room. The figures gathered around the tall figure of Christ are described with sparse, cursory, interrupted lines, leaving large areas within the figures blank. Some have fallen on their knees, others are turning away, most have their eyes closed or even covered, to protect them from the glaring light of the apparition. The only solid shapes in this room are the chair at left and the bench at right, while the figures are tenuous, immaterial.
As Nicholas Stogdon points out, the impression is slipped, in particular at left where many lines are double-printing. Remarkably, this phenomenon occurs often in examples of this print, and it is likely that, rather than being a printing defect, it is intentional. It seems that Rembrandt deliberately made the plate wobble in the printing to further heighten the ephemeral effects of the plate. It may not be without spiritual significance that, as a result, the figure of Christ is the most substantial, while all others are mere spectres.