A Woman making Water

In times past, those who took it upon themselves to categorize Rembrandt’s prints were prone to grouping this print, together with its male counterpart (A Man making Water, NH 52) and others etchings of a sexual or scatological nature under the heading of sujets libres (‘free subjects’). Such was the discomfort they caused that certain academics were moved to doubt their authenticity – the idea that such a towering genius could have stooped so low was something they found hard to comprehend. And yet there is no question that they are by anyone other than Rembrandt, nor should it have proved so disconcerting, since ribald images have been a feature of the Western artistic tradition, particularly in printmaking, for centuries. The Josefowitz collection contains several of these, including the The French Bed (see lot 18, Old Masters Part I).
Since Rembrandt worked two centuries before numbered editions were a part of artistic practice, we do not know how many of these prints were made. They were printed in a piecemeal fashion, as and when there was demand. What we can however gauge is how frequently they appear in today’s market, and the present subject, along with others of this type, are exceptionally rare. It is likely that in the intervening four hundred years the majority of impressions, considered too scandalous and offensive, were destroyed.