The Star of the Kings
- Date
- c.1651
- Material
- Etching with touches of drypoint
- made in
- Amsterdam, Netherlands, Europe
- Classification
- Prints
- Collection
- Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- plate: 3 3/4 x 5 5/8 in. (9.5 x 14.3 cm)
sheet (nearly trimmed to platemark): 3 3/4 x 5 11/16 in. (9.6 x 14.4 cm) - Credit Line
- Friends Endowment Fund
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 144:1986
NOTES
The Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn was a master of the nocturne, or night scene, as this intimate and nuanced print demonstrates. A small crowd gathers around a glowing paper lantern representing the Star of Bethlehem. Another lantern in the distance illuminates a scene below the dim lights of the upper-story windows of townhouses. It was Dutch custom on the eve of the Epiphany-the Christian feast that celebrates the appearance of Jesus to the Magi-to reenact the travels of the Three Kings by going door to door, caroling and asking for refreshments and little gifts.
Provenance
- 1986
R. E. Lewis, Inc., San Rafael, CA, USA
1986 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from R. E. Lewis [1]
Notes:
[1] Invoice from R. E. Lewis dated October 7, 1986 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, November 7, 1986.
R. E. Lewis, Inc., San Rafael, CA, USA
1986 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from R. E. Lewis [1]
Notes:
[1] Invoice from R. E. Lewis dated October 7, 1986 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, November 7, 1986.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.