A Beggar Standing and Leaning on a Stick by Rembrandt van Rijn

A Beggar Standing and Leaning on a Stick 1632

drawing, print, etching

drawing

toned paper

light pencil work

quirky sketch

print

etching

pencil sketch

personal sketchbook

ink drawing experimentation

sketch

pen-ink sketch

sketchbook drawing

sketchbook art

fantasy sketch

This etching, "A Beggar Standing and Leaning on a Stick," is a poignant example of Rembrandt's mastery of capturing the human form. Created in 1632, the artwork portrays a destitute figure, clothed in tattered garments, leaning heavily on a staff. The artist's use of cross-hatching, a technique where lines are drawn at an angle to one another, adds a sense of depth and texture, emphasizing the beggar's worn and weathered appearance. The etching’s small size belies the depth of emotion Rembrandt evokes in his depiction of this marginalized individual, making it a powerful testament to his artistic genius.

Comments

minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

⋮

Rembrandt's Beggar in a High Cap Leaning on a Stick takes the work of Jacques Callot as a point of departure. Callot treated similar subjects on similar scale. Rembrandt added reckless energy to the calligraphic line employed by Callot. He provides us with a less sanitized view of the man, while also endowing him with individual humanity. The image appears completely spontaneous and unedited, as though we were looking at a page from Rembrandt’s sketchbook. However, closer observation reveals that he rethought his drawing. Originally the shadow beside the man would have impinged more fully on his form, but the truncated strokes of the zigzag lines tell us that Rembrandt partially masked his work with varnish before biting the plate in acid. In doing so, he released the man from the shadow to increase his monumentality.