The Frick Collection: Special Exhibition

Partial Show Extension: Works on loan from the Lugt Collection will remain on view in the Lower-Level Exhibition Galleries through May 22. See a Virtual Tour of the paintings in the Oval Room.

Checklist of Prints and Drawings Acquired by Lugt (Part I)

Part I | Part II

Lambert Doomer (1624–1700)
View of Angers
1646
Pen and brown ink with brown wash and gray, blue, and green watercolor

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Self-Portrait Leaning on a Stone Sill
1639
Etching
State I of II

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Bearded Man, in an Oriental Fur Cap and Robe: The Artist's Father
1631
Etching and burin
State III of IV

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
The Artist's Son, Titus
c. 1656
Etching, with plate tone on Japanese paper
Single state

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
The Artist's Mother Seated at a Table, Looking Right: Three-Quarter Length
c. 1631
Etching and burin
State II of III

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Woman with a Child Frightened by a Dog
c. 1635–36
Pen and brown ink, heightened with white under the arm of the child

Rendering the uninhibited emotions of children was an ideal exercise for an artist so deeply engaged in the representation of human expression. Here, Rembrandt conveys through line alone the baby's apprehension about the dog that comes near to sniff at the duck in the woman's basket. Rapid, single strokes of the pen indicate the child's brow line and chubby cheek and a mere squiggle of ink represents his open mouth and dimpled chin.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Three Studies of an Old Man
c. 1635
Pen and brown ink, light brown prepared paper

Beginning with the more detailed figure at bottom, Rembrandt's successive depictions are rendered with an increasingly freer handling and transform the old man's posture from a seated to a rising stance while emphasizing his astonished expression. The sketch may have been a study for one of Christ's disciples in The Supper at Emmaus, a subject Rembrandt treated in drawings and prints; the neat arrangement of the figures also suggests that the drawing may have served as a model for his students.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Three Studies of a Woman with a Child in Her Arms
c. 1630s (probably c. 1637–38)
Pen and brown ink

These figure studies become increasingly animated from the bottom of the sheet to the top. In the bottommost and central sketches, Rembrandt experiments with subtle differences in the old woman's expression and the positioning of the baby in her arms. In the most developed sketch at upper left, in which the woman appears somewhat younger, he creates a lively scene with the addition of an older, grinning child who engages the baby in a game of peek-a-boo.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Woman Leaning on a Window Sill
dated c. 1638
Pen and brown ink, brown wash on light brown prepared paper

In this study of the dramatic effects of natural light, touches of undiluted ink on the woman's face and chest indicate the dark shadows cast by her own hand and forearm. By using a half-dry brush or a finger to smudge the broad passage of wash that represents the shadow on the back wall, Rembrandt achieves a tonal variation that suggests the active movement of the light streaming into the room: with the passing of a cloud, these shadows will shift at any moment.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Seated Old Man
late 1630s
Pen and brown ink with brown wash

In this rich drawing, Rembrandt employs a wide range of techniques. He adds hatching lines in pen over areas of dark wash and uses the butt end of his brush to create the pale lines that give definition to the man's coat. He even adds a bit of white gouache to convey the woolly texture of his beard.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
A Woman Having Her Hair Combed
c. 1637–38
Pen and brown ink on light brown paper

The standing woman's corseted dress, buttoned cap, and veil can be identified as elements of historical costume and may therefore suggest a literary or religious subject. The long hair of the seated woman, rendered freely in discontinuous strokes of the pen, is also reminiscent of some of Rembrandt's mythological and biblical heroines of the 1630s, while the subject of a woman combing another's hair has origins in classical antiquity.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Two Women Teaching a Child to Walk and a Sketch of a Woman Seen from the Back
late 1630s
Pen and brown ink with brown wash, with some corrections in white, on light brown prepared paper

In rendering this image of a child learning to walk — a subject that appears several times in his oeuvre — Rembrandt sketched the composition from background to foreground, as was his customary approach. His decision to depict his figures in ancient attire may suggest that he had a particular narrative in mind, although this animated sketch cannot be connected to a later print or painting. The faint standing figure at left wearing a fanciful headdress is not part of the tender genre scene, having been drawn before it.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
The Grain Mill "De Bok" on the Bulwark "Het Blauwhoofd"
mid-1640s
Pen and brown ink with brown wash

This sheet depicts one of Amsterdam's grain mills, situated alongside a row of cottages on a rampart at the eastern edge of the city. The sails of the mill are silhouetted against the open sky. A few horizontal lines suffice to indicate the water that lies beyond the land's edge, while broader strokes of wash make up the clouds that hover over the horizon.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Martyrdom of a Woman
c. 1640
Pen and brown ink with white wash on two pieces of paper

A kneeling woman with bare breasts is surrounded by men, one of whom binds her wrists, while another holds back her head. A third man, at right, reaches for his sword, ready to perform the beheading. Rembrandt worked out the composition of this violent scene with especially bold, thick lines and used the perimeter of the paper to resolve in greater detail the poses of some of the individual figures.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Woman with a Child on Her Lap
second half of the 1640s
Pen and brown ink with brown wash

Displeased with the space between the figures in his initial sketch, Rembrandt reworked his drawing, applying faint daubs of brown wash across the woman's face to suggest shadow and with vigorous strokes placing her nearer the infant. The child — perhaps representing Rembrandt's son, Titus — was clearly the artist's main interest, its countenance being carefully described as opposed to the cursory lines of the woman's features.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
A Woman Stealing from the Pocket of a Sleeping Drunkard
c. 1650
Pen and brown ink, heightened with white

Rembrandt executed this drawing of a prostitute pilfering from an inebriated client in stages, the darker lines indicating the artist's modifications. Such revisions were a routine part of his creative process. Although this drawing's attribution was once questioned, Lugt was convinced of its authenticity, which is generally accepted by scholars today.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Landscape with a Bear Fighting with a Goat, after Titian
c. 1650
Pen and brown ink

Rembrandt made drawn copies after the paintings, prints, and drawings of other artists, often imitating the original work's composition, medium, and style. Scholars now recognize that this drawing — once attributed to Raphael as the added inscription at lower right indicates — is by Rembrandt, made after a finely rendered drawing by Titian, whose prints the Dutch master collected.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
The Prophet Elijah and the Angel in the Desert
early 1650s
Pen and brown ink, brown wash, with corrections in white

As recounted in I Kings 19:1–4, when his life was threatened by Queen Jezebel, Elijah fled to the desert, where an angel appeared to offer him food and guidance. Rembrandt executed this drawing in a fluid array of fine and bold strokes using a reed pen. He then altered the composition by applying a white wash to erase the bag near Elijah's right foot and the shaft of light visible under the angel's left arm. He also scraped away the two figures who had initially been positioned between the angel and Elijah.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
The Angel Leaving Manoah and His Wife
early 1650s
Pen and brown ink

As related in Judges 13:1–20, Manoah and his barren wife prepared a sacrificial offering in answer to an angel's pronouncement that they would conceive a child — a son, Samson. This sketch is an excellent example of the transmission of artistic styles: rendered in the fine manner, which Rembrandt learned while copying Titian, the drawing would later serve as a model for several of Rembrandt's students.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Farmhouse and a Haystack
1650s
Pen and brown ink, brown wash, with corrections and accents in white

This langhuisstolp or "cheese-cover" farmhouse with its distinctive hayrick and suspended fishing nets appears in other drawings by Rembrandt, prompting Lugt to cite it as evidence of the artist's practice of drawing from life. Recently, a site along the Amstel River has been proposed as the scene's location. Rembrandt deliberately leaves the foreground bare to suggest brilliant sunlight while shadowed passages are evoked by gently smearing the ink with a finger or brush.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Cottage near the Entrance to a Wood
1644
Pen and inks with brown washes, corrections in white and touches of red chalk
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Robert Lehman Collection, 1975

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Lambert Doomer (1624–1700)
Old Farm at the Edge of a Wood (after Rembrandt)
c. 1658?
Pen and brown ink, brown and reddish brown wash, and traces of black and red chalk
Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris

Lambert Doomer, who supplied frames to Rembrandt, probably trained with the Dutch master in the 1640s, although no documentation survives to confirm the relationship. This intriguing juxtaposition compares Doomer's luminous Old Farm at the Edge of a Wood with Rembrandt's largest drawn landscape, Cottage near the Entrance to a Wood, signed and dated 1644. Doomer most likely owned Rembrandt's drawing, which has long been assumed to have served as the younger artist's model.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1609–1669)
The Healing of the Mother-in-Law of Saint Peter
late 1650s
Pen and brown ink, with brown wash, heightened with white

When making sketches to serve as models for his students, Rembrandt often focused on a story's protagonists — in this case, Christ and the convalescent woman described in Mark 1:29–31 — deliberately excluding any additional figures. Here he also refrains from making any reference to the setting, save for a few lively strokes to suggest the bed or blanket on which the woman reclines. Rembrandt's strategic placement of hatched lines and subtle smudging of ink create bold contrasts in light and shadow, which underscore the drama of the event.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Self-Portrait, Frowning: Bust
1630
Etching
State II of III [IV]

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Sheet of Studies: Head of the Artist, a Beggar Couple, Heads of an Old Man and Woman, etc.
c. 1632
Etching
State II of II

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Self-Portrait in a Cap and Scarf with the Dark Face: Bust
1633
Etching
State II of II

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Self-Portrait with Raised Sabre
1634
Etching, with touches of burin, retouched by a later hand with brush and gray ink
State II of II

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Self-Portrait Wearing a Soft Cap: Full Face, Head Single ("aux trois moustaches")
c. 1635
Etching
Single state

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Self-Portrait with Saskia
1636
Etching
State II of III

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Self-Portrait Etching at a Window
1648
Etching, drypoint, and burin on Japanese paper
State II of V

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Shah Jahan, Standing with a Flower and a Sword
c. 1656–61
Pen and brown ink with brown wash on Asiatic paper

Rembrandt made numerous drawings after contemporary Indian illustrations and even owned an album of "curious miniature drawings," according to an inventory of his possessions made in 1656. Although the original Indian works were executed using vibrant colors, Rembrandt's depictions, like this portrait of the Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan (1592–1666), were rendered in a more chromatic palette with a focus on the figures' facial features and exotic attire.

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Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669)
Interior with Saskia in Bed
c. 1640–42
Pen and brown ink with brown and gray wash and some additions in red and black chalk

This painterly drawing is thought to represent a room in Rembrandt's home with his ailing wife in bed and a maid sewing beside her. Rembrandt laid out the scene with his characteristically rapid penwork, then applied unusually extensive amounts of brown and gray wash to color the composition. The dry application of ink on the bed leaves bits of the paper exposed, creating the illusion of light dappling across the surfaces of the furniture.

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Pieter Lastman (1583–1633)
Standing Mercury
1620s
Red and white chalk on yellowish prepared paper

In 1625 Rembrandt left his native Leiden and moved to Amsterdam, where he spent six months studying with Pieter Lastman, a prominent painter specializing in religious, historical, and mythological scenes. Inspired by Lastman's choice of subject matter, free manner of sketching, and bold lighting, Rembrandt would incorporate these elements in his own works, even favoring Lastman's choice of medium — red chalk on yellow paper — for many of his early drawings.

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Principal funding for the exhibition is provided by The Christian Humann Foundation, Jean-Marie and Elizabeth Eveillard, and Melvin R. Seiden.

Corporate support is provided by Fiduciary Trust Company International.

The exhibition is also supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

The catalogue is made possible by the Robert Lehman Foundation, Inc. It is also underwritten, in part, by public funds from the Netherlands Cultural Services and by the Netherland-America Foundation.