Pamono Rembrandt van Rijn, The Archangel Raphael Leaving Tobias’ Family, Etching, 1641> Old Masters

The Archangel Raphael Leaving Tobias’ Family is an etching by Rembrandt executed in 1641. This etching is a proof of the 3rd state (of 4) before of the diagonals on the ground at the bottom left. Signed and dated in the plate. Provenance: Paul Proute Gallery, Paris, 1981; A. J. Hachette (Lugt L.132) On verso: Unidentified “h” mark; signed in ink L. Rabier (?); A. J. Hachette collector’s mark. Certificate by Paul Prouté. The state of preservation is good. No margin but complete. Partially glued onto another paper support with a paper tape. Foxings due to the time. Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and draughtsman. It is estimated that Rembrandt’s surviving works amount to about three hundred paintings, three hundred etchings and several hundred drawings. Rembrandt produced etchings for most of his career, from 1626 to 1660, when he was forced to sell his printing-press and practically abandoned etching. In the mature works of the 1650s, Rembrandt was more ready to improvise on the plate and large prints typically survive in several states, up to eleven, often radically changed.