Petrus en Johannes genezen een verlamde man bij de tempelpoort 1659 - 1808

Rembrandt van Rijn made this etching of Peter and John healing a disabled man at the temple gate. Etching is a printmaking technique where the artist covers a metal plate with a waxy, acid-resistant layer, then scratches an image into that layer. When the plate is dipped in acid, the exposed lines are eaten away, creating grooves that hold ink. The plate is then cleaned, inked, and pressed onto paper, transferring the image. Notice how Rembrandt exploits the etched line to build atmosphere and depth. The temple is a towering presence, and the crowd witnesses this miracle. But the true wonder lies in the contrast between the crisp details of the foreground figures and the blurred background. This contrast is achieved through varying line thickness and density during the etching process. Rembrandt skillfully uses the etched line, which would typically belong to the world of reproducible prints, to convey painterly effects. This challenges our notions of fine art versus craft, and how we value the creative process involved.