The artist drawing from the model

The artist drawing from the model, executed by Rembrandt van Rijn in 1639, is a significant example of the master's extensive graphic output. Rendered on paper, this work is classified as a print, a medium through which Rijn achieved extraordinary levels of nuance and atmospheric complexity. Created during the height of the Dutch Golden Age, the piece reflects the era's robust market for collectible prints, which allowed artists like Rijn to disseminate their compositions widely to collectors across Europe.

This piece explores the foundational necessity of academic study: the artist capturing the human form from a living subject. The composition provides an intimate glimpse into the working studio, focusing the viewer’s attention on the intense concentration required for drawing and the relationship between the creator and the model. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Rijn frequently used the printing process, whether etching or drypoint, to experiment profoundly with chiaroscuro and the dramatic effects of light and shadow, demonstrating why his images on paper remain central to the history of printmaking.

As one of the most inventive and influential printmakers of his era, Rijn produced many such images that eventually entered the public domain, ensuring global access to his artistic genius. Original examples of this 17th-century print are highly valued, but reproductions continue to allow modern audiences to study the subtlety of Rijn’s technique. This exceptional impression of The artist drawing from the model is currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, contributing to the institution’s world-renowned holdings of Dutch Golden Age art.