A Man Making Water

A Man Making Water is an intimate etching created by Rembrandt van Rijn in 1630. This small-scale print, documented as the fourth state of five according to New Holl., captures a seemingly trivial scene from everyday life, characteristic of the rising naturalism in the Dutch Golden Age. As a pioneer in the medium, Rembrandt utilized the etching technique not just for outline, but to establish mood and texture. He employed sharp, careful lines to delineate the male figure and the ground beneath him, showcasing his early mastery of the technical demands of printmaking.

The subject matter-the solitary figure of a man engaged in a biological necessity-was exceptionally frank for the time. This focus on an unidealized representation demonstrates Rembrandt's early commitment to observation, often preferring subjects rooted in common experience over historical or mythological grand narratives. The piece belongs to a genre of small figure studies he produced during this period. The surviving states of the original plate offer a unique insight into the artistic process, showing the progressive wear and changes made by Rembrandt to the copper plate itself. This important example of early 17th-century Dutch prints is housed in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Due to the historical age of the work, high-quality reproductions are often available for educational purposes in the public domain.