Skip to main content

Visit Main Menu Block

  • Hours & Admission
  • Accessibility & Amenities
  • Tours & Group Visits
  • Visitor Guidelines

Exhibitions and Events Main Menu Block

  • Exhibitions
  • Events

Art and Design Main Menu Block

  • The Collection
  • Projects & Publications
  • Past Exhibitions

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Image

Z0020019.jpg
Previous 1 / 1 Next

Rembrandt van Rijn

Descent from the Cross by Torchlight, 1654

Description

Maker

  • Rembrandt van Rijn, 1606-1669, Dutch

Title

Descent from the Cross by Torchlight

Year

1654

Medium

Etching and drypoint on laid paper

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • etching,
  • drypoint

Supports

  • Medium weight cream laid paper

Dimensions

Plate: 21.1 x 16.2 cm (8 5/16 x 6 3/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Lettered LL: "Rembrandt. f 1654"

Verso: stamped in blue with an unidentified collector's mark "AL" (Lugt 140b)

No watermark visible

Identification

State

i/iv

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Prints

Credit

Gift of Mr. Henry D. Sharpe

Object Number

49.078

Projects & Publications

Publications

Selected Works

La Peintre Graveur, 1803-1821

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Visions and Revisions

February 15 - August 4, 2019

A bright light pierces the deep shadows of night to reveal this dramatic, poignant scene. The dead body of Jesus, his foot still gruesomely nailed to the cross, is hoisted down by a group of followers. As one crowd member lifts his arms to receive the weight of the corpse, his hand catches the torchlight, puncturing the darkness.

Rembrandt was a master of chiaroscuro, or “dark manner” prints. He used lines and drypoint to build up areas of rich, velvety blacks from which partially lit figures emerge, creating a heightened atmosphere of mystery and drama.

Master Prints from the Permanent Collection

June 21 - September 8, 1985

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Descent from the Cross by Torchlight with the accession number of 49.078. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

RISD Museum

  •  Facebook
  •  Twitter
  •  Instagram
  •  Vimeo
  •  Pinterest
  •  SoundCloud

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Footer Secondary

  • Image Request
  • Press Office
  • Rent the Museum
  • Terms of Use