The Descent from the Cross by Torchlight
- Date
- 1654
- Material
- Etching and drypoint
- printed in
- Paris, Île-de-France region, France, Europe
- matrix made in
- Amsterdam, Noord-Holland province, Netherlands, Europe
- Classification
- Prints
- Collection
- Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- image: 8 5/16 x 6 3/8 in. (21.1 x 16.2 cm)
plate: 8 5/16 x 6 3/8 in. (21.1 x 16.2 cm)
sheet: 9 x 6 13/16 in. (22.9 x 17.3 cm)
framed: 20 3/8 x 15 3/8 in. (51.8 x 39.1 cm) - Credit Line
- Friends Endowment Fund, The Sidney S. and Sadie Cohen Print Purchase Fund, the Julian and Hope Edison Print Fund, and funds given by Mr. and Mrs. Christian B. Peper, Phoebe and Mark Weil, Thomas E. Rassieur, Howard H. Hays, and Jan Paul Richter and Ellen von Seggern Richter
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 29:1992
NOTES
This print focuses on a traditional theme, taking Christ's body down from the cross. An attendant illuminates the scene with a brightly lit torch. The man holding Christ's body bends his knees under the weight. Joseph of Arimathea, wearing a tall hat, observes from below. According to the Gospels, Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy counselor who donated his prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after the crucifixion. Bending low next to Joseph, the rabbi Nicodemus prepares the bier to carry Christ's body away. In the print Rembrandt gives unusually prominent placement to these two important men who crossed religious and social lines to give Christ a proper burial.
Provenance
Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), London, England [1]
Maurice Gobin (1883-1962), Paris, France [2]
- 1977
Kornfeld & Klipstein, Bern, Switzerland
1977/06/08 -
August Laube & Sohn, Zürich, Switzerland (Brigitte Laube), purchased from Kornfield & Klipstein sale, Bern, Switzerland, June 8, 1977, lot no. 123 [3]
- 1989
Private collection (possibly Switzerland), purchased from August Laube & Sohn
1989 - 1992
Artemis Fine Arts, London, England, purchased from private collector [4]
1992
Arcadia (Robert M. Light), Tokyo, Japan, purchased from Artemis Fine Arts [5]
1992/5/9 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Arcadia through Robert M. Light, Santa Barbara, CA, USA [6]
Notes:
[1] Sir Joshua Reynolds' collector's stamp is on the verso (Lugt 2364).
[2] Maurice Gobin's stamp appears on the verso. He was active as a dealer 1912-1952 and only marked works in his personal collection (see Lugt 1124a).
[3] See undated letter from Robert M. Light [SLAM document files]. See also the auction catalogue "Graphik und Handzeichnungen Alter Meister," Kornfeld & Klipstein, Bern, Switzerland, June 8, 1977, lot no. 123.
[4] See undated letter cited in note [3]. Robert M. Light believed that the work may have been in the Somary collection at this time, but this is unsubstantiated.
[5] Arcadia (Robert M. Light).
[6] Invoice from Arcadia dated [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, May 9, 1992.
Maurice Gobin (1883-1962), Paris, France [2]
- 1977
Kornfeld & Klipstein, Bern, Switzerland
1977/06/08 -
August Laube & Sohn, Zürich, Switzerland (Brigitte Laube), purchased from Kornfield & Klipstein sale, Bern, Switzerland, June 8, 1977, lot no. 123 [3]
- 1989
Private collection (possibly Switzerland), purchased from August Laube & Sohn
1989 - 1992
Artemis Fine Arts, London, England, purchased from private collector [4]
1992
Arcadia (Robert M. Light), Tokyo, Japan, purchased from Artemis Fine Arts [5]
1992/5/9 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Arcadia through Robert M. Light, Santa Barbara, CA, USA [6]
Notes:
[1] Sir Joshua Reynolds' collector's stamp is on the verso (Lugt 2364).
[2] Maurice Gobin's stamp appears on the verso. He was active as a dealer 1912-1952 and only marked works in his personal collection (see Lugt 1124a).
[3] See undated letter from Robert M. Light [SLAM document files]. See also the auction catalogue "Graphik und Handzeichnungen Alter Meister," Kornfeld & Klipstein, Bern, Switzerland, June 8, 1977, lot no. 123.
[4] See undated letter cited in note [3]. Robert M. Light believed that the work may have been in the Somary collection at this time, but this is unsubstantiated.
[5] Arcadia (Robert M. Light).
[6] Invoice from Arcadia dated [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, May 9, 1992.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.