Rembrandt’s The Three Crosses and Other Golden Era Master Prints Come to Sale With Christie’s

The Three Crosses was the most significant print by the Dutch Golden Age master Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. He used drypoint to create it by scratching onto a metal plate with a sharp tool. The displaced metal, known as “burr,” has a diffused tonal quality when it is printed. Rembrandt amended the plate five times; however, in the fourth state, he made the most noticeable changes. An early impression of this momentous print is a key highlight of the upcoming auction from Christie’s. With a profuse burr and intense contrasts, it has a light, carefully wiped tone with thread margins. By vehemently gouging the plate, Rembrandt modeled the body of Christ as a firm figure while others appear as apparitions. The intensely engraved long, vertical lines cast all the other figures, except Christ, into shadow. 

Another available artwork of note is an anonymous portrait of Suleiman the Magnificent, after the work of Titian. It is a woodcut on four joined sheets of laid paper. Suleiman I, the tenth Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, was a prominent ruler. Under his reign, the empire reached its heights of political and military prowess. This print shows him in profile wearing an elaborate four-tiered helmet. To view the complete catalog and register to bid online, visit Christie’s.