Notes

This small and exquisite landscape has often been understood as the pendant of another small etching of the same year, Canal with an Angler and two Swans (NH 253), on the basis of the very similar size, style and the rounded platemark above. It has even been speculated that the two plates were once one long plate, which had subsequently been separated by Rembrandt, but this theory has gradually lost support.

The typical Dutch motif of the boat moored in a canal is enriched with a rocky landscape in the left background and other picturesque elements. The present example is a very fine, warm impression with much burr, of the second state. Of the first state, only six impressions are recorded.

As one of the towering figures in the history of art, Rembrandt, a miller’s son from the university town of Leiden, was an artist of unmatched genius. Equally gifted as a painter, printmaker, and draftsman, Rembrandt proved himself to be as skillful at making portraits as he was at creating religious and mythological narratives. His landscapes are just as remarkable as his rare still lifes and subjects detailing everyday life.

Widely recognized as the greatest practitioner of the etching technique in the history of art, Rembrandt created 300 prints that constitute a body of work unparalleled in richness and beauty. During his lifetime, Rembrandt’s extraordinary skills as a printmaker were the main source of his international fame. Unlike his oil paintings, prints travelled light and were relatively cheap. For this reason, they soon became very popular with collectors not only within, but also beyond the borders of the Netherlands.