Faust (The Scholar in His Study) by Rembrandt van Rijn

Faust (The Scholar in His Study) c. 1652

0:00

print, etching, drypoint

portrait

narrative-art

baroque

print

etching

history-painting

drypoint

Dimensions: 8 1/16 x 6 5/16 in. (20.5 x 16.1 cm) (sheet)

Rembrandt van Rijn created this etching, *Faust*, in the Dutch Republic, a place of relative religious freedom, around 1652. Here we see a scholar, presumably Faust, pausing in his studies to stare at a glowing disc of alchemical symbols. The image is dark, but the window, and especially this disc, is bright. This contrast contributes to the sense of mystery and magic. During the Reformation, there was renewed interest in humanist scholarship, alchemy, and hermeticism, and this print speaks to that tradition. As historians, we might ask, was Rembrandt a believer in these philosophies, or was he simply depicting Faust’s quest for forbidden knowledge? The answer may lie in the etching's status as a commodity. Rembrandt sold these prints to collectors. The price of the work was determined by the demand for it. To understand this image better, we might investigate 17th-century Dutch book culture, the history of science, and the market for prints.

Comments

minneapolisinstituteofart over 1 year ago

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The close connection of Vermeer's Astronomer to Rembrandt's famous etching Faust has been widely recognized. Vermeer clearly drew inspiration from Rembrandt's work, which shows a scholar alone in his shadowy library, standing-not sitting-at his desk, absorbed in contemplation, his face and thoughts illuminated by the diffused light from a stained glass window. The desk of Vermeer's young scholar is arrayed much like the work surface in the print, with a table carpet, open books, and a prominent celestial globe. In Rembrandt's etching, a mystical apparition dominates the scene: a luminous medallion, encoded with letters, and a pair of hands, one of which points to a puzzling oval disk, sometimes identified as a mirror, sometimes as an astrolabe. This enigmatic scholar has been variously interpreted as an alchemist or the literary character Dr. Faustus, who surrendered his soul to the devil for unlimited knowledge. Vermeer brings the scene down to Earth in his painting, yet he captured some of the evocative qualities of Rembrandt's work to enliven the interior world of a scholar in search of esoteric knowledge.