9/21/11

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Faust


Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Date: c. 1652
Technique: Ink on paper/Dry-point, etching and engraving, 21 x 16 cm

An old man looks up from his work. A bright, radiating disk has appeared at the window of his study. Within the circle of light is a mysterious text. It is an anagram - that is, words in which the letters are in a different order. Reading from the inside out, it says: INRI ADAM Te DAGERAM AMRTET ALGAR ALGASTNA, although just what that means is unclear. To the right of the disk, a hand can be distinguished, which points to something resembling an oval mirror. Although the room is poorly lit, many things can still be perceived; the books, the globe and the skull, left rear, all suggest that the man is educated.

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1 comment:

Lorena Corsa said...

I love the leyend of Faust, is so scary.
From Rembrandt you are missing one of the best paintings, called "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp". Is also one of my favorites :D