c. 1652
Christ Preaching ('La Petite Tombe')
Rembrandt Harmensz. van RijnDutch (active Leiden and Amsterdam), 1606 - 1669
Within the compass of a small black-and-white print, Rembrandt conveys the spellbinding power of Christ's voice over a group of Jerusalem townsfolk, so intent on the words spoken that no one looks at the speaker. Of the twenty-eight individuals of all ages deftly characterized (including one whose feet protrude into the lower right corner), only a babe-in-arms and a toddler scribbling in the dust are unaffected by Christ's charismatic presence.
Rembrandt's mastery of chiaroscuro (the dramatic interplay of dark and light) is especially effective in this print, in which the color of the paper is used to portray the holy radiance that illuminates some in the audience while leaving others enveloped in darkly inked shadows. Accents of velvety black drypoint burr enrich the composition throughout, most noticeably in the densely worked areas on the robe and sleeve of the turbaned figure at left and on the hanging folds of Christ's garments.
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