Attrib. Charles Amand Durand after Rembrandt - c.1880 Etching, Aechje Claesdr

Description

An etching after Rembrandt (1606-1669) 'Portrait of Aechje Claesdr' (1634) at the age of eighty-three. Rembrandt's signature and date from the original plate are included in plate over the sitter's shoulder. Inscribed with the name of the publisher, Raphael Tuck and Sons, in plate to the upper edge. On wove laid to board.

Condition

There is some mild discolouration at the edges of the substrate but overall in very good condition.

Size

28.4 x 21.9cm (11.2" x 8.6")
Sheet: 31.4 x 24.6cm (12.4" x 9.7")

Artist Biography

Charles Amand Durand (1831-1905) was an engraver and artist who resurrected the fading copper and wood plates of various Old Masters from the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, such as Rembrandt, Albrecht Durer, and Hans Sebald Beham. Durand comprehensively researched many public and private collections displaying the Old Masters' engravings and realised that many of the images would eventually fade completely. He especially admired the works of Rembrandt and scrutinised his plates and techniques. Rembrandt's engravings were created in the 1600s, but by the mid-1800s the original plates were in a worn and defective condition. In order to form exact reproductions, he used the 1st and 2nd state prints of the original works as his guides. Durand dedicated a major part of his life to the task of recreating in exact detail the engraved plates of Rembrandt and other old Masters.

Durand's re-engravings became so well respected that major collectors and institutions throughout Europe sought to acquire them, including the French Biblioteque Nationale and the Louvre Museum in Paris. In 1855, the Conservator of the Cabinet de Estampes, George Duplessis, was so appreciative of the genius of Durand that he had his work published in books by the Bibliotheque Nationale, France. Durand's plates were used in an anthology of European engravings, from the 15th to 19th centuries (1870).