Etching, paper 15 x 11.5 cm (plate imprint), signed From plate l.g. "Rembrandt 1654", below composition dry engraver's stamp Amand Durand., framed 36 x 28 cm. Original certificate attached.
Ref. 18 according to the British catalog, circa 1797, this is a hand-drawn etching from Rembrandt's original copper plates by Armand-Durand (1831-1905) supervised by Art World Industries, inc.
Amand-Durand was a great admirer of Rembrandt. He desired to study the master's plates and techniques. Unfortunately, at that time there were only about 100 known plates left on which impressions of excellent quality could be obtained. For 100 years, most of Rembrandt's plates were shrouded in mystery. Over time, some Rembrandt plates began to appear in the public domain but by that time Rembrandt's plates were already damaged and dull. Amand Durand sought out and intensively studied works available only in collections. From then on, he spent most of his life carefully copying Rembrandt's paintings on copper plates. Their incredible clarity and accuracy was achieved because Amand-Durand took as his guide not worn and dull plates, but engravings of the first and second state of the master's original works. In 1855, Estampes Cabinet conservator George Duplessis so appreciated Durand's genius that he had his works published in books belonging to the Bibliotheque Nationale in France. Amand-Durand served as the master engraver in an anthology of European engravings, which became so valuable that they were kept under strict control in most libraries.
Shortly after Amanda-Durand's death in 1905, his original copper plates went to the prestigious French publishing family DOMINIQUE VINCENT et Cie. They mainly published works for book illustrations for the Bibliotheque Nationale and the Louvre as beautiful exact copies of Rembrandt. Occasionally they sold to private individuals interested in this exceptional work. An American dealer purchased a in the 1980s all 348 original copper plates. As a result, the American public was also able to see this unimaginable story of how an outstanding craftsman with his talent and dedication to the great master Rembrandt created etchings of outstanding quality.
More than a century after Amanda Durand's restoration of Rembrandt's engravings, the benefits of his dedication to quality and beauty are once again being felt throughout the art world. The present etching was made from a recycled original copper plate by Amanda Durand in the late 19th century.
