The Artist Drawing from a Model
- Date
- c.1639
- Material
- Etching, drypoint, and engraving
- made in
- Amsterdam, Netherlands, Europe
- Classification
- Prints
- Collection
- Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- plate: 9 3/16 x 7 1/4 in. (23.3 x 18.4 cm)
sheet (irregular): 9 1/4 x 7 3/8 in. (23.5 x 18.8 cm) - Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 360:1915
NOTES
This print shows a nude model posing on a platform as the artist draws. She holds a palm branch, a symbol of virtue. In the center of the background there is an easel; other artistic props, such as armor and a bust, are on the right. Printmakers often completed the background area first, leaving the central figures in the foreground for last. This minimized the chance that a tool or acid would accidentally disfigure key elements of the composition after they had been carefully incised. Rembrandt van Rijn began making this print sometime around 1639 but never finished it. Nevertheless he continued to issue prints from it as late as 1652. The watermark of this impression conveys that it was printed in 1652.
Provenance
Johann Wilhelm (J. W.) Nahl (1803-1880), Kassel, Germany [1]
- 1915
Arthur H. Hahlo (later Harlow) & Co., New York, NY, USA
1915 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Arthur H. Hahlo & Co. [2]
Notes:
[1] Nahl's collector's stamp appears on the verso of the print [Lugt 1954]. However, the print did not appear in the auction of Nahl's print collection, "An Important Collection of Rare Engravings Formed by the Late William Johann Nahl," Philadelphia, Davis & Harvey, March 7-8, 1898.
[2] An invoice-like document from the Museum to Arthur H. Hahlo dated October 6, 1915 presumably accompanied payment for the print [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, December 10, 1915.
- 1915
Arthur H. Hahlo (later Harlow) & Co., New York, NY, USA
1915 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Arthur H. Hahlo & Co. [2]
Notes:
[1] Nahl's collector's stamp appears on the verso of the print [Lugt 1954]. However, the print did not appear in the auction of Nahl's print collection, "An Important Collection of Rare Engravings Formed by the Late William Johann Nahl," Philadelphia, Davis & Harvey, March 7-8, 1898.
[2] An invoice-like document from the Museum to Arthur H. Hahlo dated October 6, 1915 presumably accompanied payment for the print [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, December 10, 1915.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.