REMBRANDT VAN RIJN Self-Portrait with Cap Pulled Forward.
Etching, circa 1631. 50x42 mm; 2x1 3/4 inches, small margins. Biörklund's fifth state (of 5), after the reduction of the plate and with the "zig-zag" line on the left side of the bust; Usticke's seventh state (of 7); White and Boon's fifth state (of 5). A superb, dark, well-inked and early impression of this extremely scarce etching, with strong contrasts.
According to Usticke, "An extremely rare, small self portrait, RRR+" (Usticke illustrates an impression in reverse, which is evidently either a counter proof from the original plate or the reverse copy he notes in his catalogue).
We have found only 16 other impressions at auction in the past 30 years. Bartsch 319; Biörklund 31-10; Hollstein (White and Boon) 319.
