A Guide to Rembrandt Etchings

As one of the greatest Dutch painters of all time Rembrandt much of his earlier work follows the style of Pieter Lastman of who he took apprenticeship in 1624.

One such portrait is the stoning of stephen which is dated 1624 in the Musée des Beaux-Arts at Lyons.Earlier 20th century connoisseurs claimed Rembrandt had produced over 600 paintings, nearly 400 etchings and 2,000 drawings and it has been noted that Rembrandt took as his primary subjects the themes of portraiture, landscape and narrative painting, in which during his early years in Amsterdam (1632-1636),

Rembrandt began to paint dramatic biblical and mythological scenes in high contrast and of large format. As time went on it has been said that n the 1650s, Rembrandt's style changed again. in where his paintings increased in size, colours became richer and brush strokes were more pronounced so with these changes, it is apparent that Rembrandt distanced himself from his earlier work to a more detailed art style.

When it came to his etchings you can see how he took easily to etching useing a burin and partly engraved many plates, the freedom of etching technique was fundamental to his work. He was very closely involved in the whole process of printmaking, which can be seen in his earlier work in the print making.

Getting a comprehensive guide to the life and art of rembrandt is what most collectors want the ones who can afford to spend the money on the rare etchings that are only seen in museums, the etchings, drawings and engravings are exceptional due to the detail and the unique strokes Rembrandt used to create more than 57 illustrations.

Some of his works include: Rembrandt van rijn etchings, rembrandt harmensz van rijn, rembrandt hundred guilder print, rembrandt self portraits, rembrandt paintings, rembrandt the return of the prodigal son, as well as thd comparison of rembrandt with van gogh.

Rembrandt lifes work has been chronically documented by those who are fans and art collectors, from 1628 to 1669. Born in Leiden, he mastered the historical paintings of the masters just after 6 months at the young age of 22 years old after moving to amsterdam in 1631 he commissioned portraits through his cousin a successful art dealer.

His masterpieces were in high demand some of Rembrand Van Rijn famous works include open mouth self portrait of 1629, landscape with a castle 1632, two studies of a bird of paradise 1637, Rembrandt etching 1648 and many more.

Impressions on paper is done with a chemical process many have experimented with the technique of breaking up the long contour lines into strokes, Rembrandt himself mastered etching in order to create a more painter effect by printing on colored paper of some 290 etchings all taking on the technique of etching.

The Rembrandt house is the most noted example of this technique, these impressions can be done on wooden block, metal or silk screen an acid rich mixture of etching ground mixed with asphalt, resin and wax, this is the foundation of where the art is drawn with an etching needle, this is how the Rembrandt's drawings has such a pencil like drawing effect.

The plate is put into dilute hydrochloric acid which allows for the grooves to show , once the ground is removed then the ink can be applied with a roller all is wiped away except where the ink is left in the groves.

Once damp sheets of paper are put on the plate and both are put into the printing press, the ink absorbed from the groves creates a reverse impression of the design, where the etched lines with the most ink comes out to be deeper and darker as can be seen in Rembrandts Diana Bathing etching.