Etchings by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) will be exhibited in Drexel University’s Rincliffe Gallery from December 4 through February 26. The 20 etchings are on loan from the collection of W. Ann Reynolds and Thomas H. Kirschbaum.Rembrandt was prolific, creating nearly 600 paintings and approximately 290 etchings. He began making etchings in the Dutch town of Leiden in the late 1620s and continued with this medium for the rest of his life. In his Old Man with a Fur Cap and a Velvet Cloak, 1632, the etching process allowed him to create the texture of the hat, the beard and the cloak. Eventually, Rembrandt combined drypoint and burin with etching to further enhance an image. An example of this can be found in his print, Christ Preaching, also known as The Hundred-Guilder Print, c. 1643-49, his most famous etching. Rembrandt could print up to 150 copies from one etching plate. Consequently, his prints were distributed throughout Europe and he acquired a reputation as an accomplished artist in his own lifetime. The subjects of Rembrandt’s etchings are similar to those of his paintings: Biblical themes, genre scenes, landscapes, nudes and portraits. Some of his rare prints will be exhibited at Drexel including The Boat House, 1645, Naked Woman Seated on a Mound, c. 1653 and the seventh state of Woman Seated Half-Dressed Beside a Stove, 1658. The Rembrandt exhibition will be displayed in Drexel University’s Rincliffe Gallery on the third floor of the Main Building at 32nd and Chestnut Streets. The Gallery is open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.The Rincliffe Gallery is part of The Drexel Collection, founded by Anthony J. Drexel in 1892. It consists of European paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, textiles and decorative arts. Objects from The Drexel Collection are exhibited in the Anthony J. Drexel Picture Gallery at 32nd and Chestnut Streets and the Paul Peck Alumni Gallery at 32nd and Market Streets in Philadelphia. For more information on the Rembrandt etchings exhibition or The Drexel Collection, contact Jacqueline DeGroff, curator of The Drexel Collection, 215-895-0480 or drexelcollection@drexel.edu, or visit www.drexel.edu/drexelcollection.News Media Contact: Niki Gianakaris, director, Drexel News Bureau 215-895-6741, 215-778-7752 (cell) or ngianakaris@drexel.edu
