REMBRANDT H. van Rijn (1606 1669) - "The Ship... Lot 35

REMBRANDT H. van Rijn (1606 1669) - "The Ship of Fortune". 1633. RARE original etching. Signed and dated "Rembrandt f. 1633" in point on the boat. Ref: Hind, no. 106 (iii/iii). New Hollstein, no. 123 (ii/ii) ("Early impressions, often those in the book by Herckman, still show the horizontal glitch over the mast and flag of the ship, that was already there in state I"). Proof on watermarked laid paper. Text on the reverse. One of the rare engravings of the artist made for a book. Fillet of margins. Beautiful impression. Rembrandt occasionally received requests to illustrate books. This allegorical engraving appeared in Elias Herckman's "Der Zee-Vaert Lof", a verse story of marine exploits that goes back to Noah and the Ark. The undulating baroque composition is a complex evocation of Augustus' defeat of Mark Antony. Allegorical scene with Mark Antony in a laurel wreath on a fallen horse, pleading with figures setting sail with Fortune, naked and holding the sail. 11,3 x 11,6 cm in copper. 11,4 x 16,8 cm the sheet. Condition B (some light scattered foxing).