REMBRANDT'S RARE etchings of everyday scenes and landscapes in 17th century Amsterdam, self-portraits, nudes and many scenes from the Bible, went on view at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin last night.
The exhibition of 75 valuable prints, which is free of charge and open to the public until September 14th, was launched by Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Martin Cullen at the library in Dublin Castle.
The great Dutch master, Rembrandt Van Rijn, who is recognised as one of the greatest etchers of all time, produced about 290 prints during his lifetime, in addition to his paintings and drawings. He was "a supreme draughtsman, and one with a human touch", said Dr Michael Ryan, the library's director. "Not for him airbrushed glossy celebs," he remarked.
Instead, he said, Rembrandt, who was born in 1606 and died in 1669, drew "the human body with all its imperfections, and the images he created are all the more powerful for that".
In particular, a series of self-portraits show how Rembrandt "chronicled his own changing appearance through life, from a - probably slightly cocky - youth, through the sophisticated successful man, fashionably dressed and looking at us with a jaunty self-confidence, to a disappointed old age," he said.
The exhibition is a collaboration with the Museum het Rembrandthuis in Amsterdam, which preserves the house where Rembrandt lived when he was at the height of his fame and fortune.
"For a long time we have wanted to mount an exhibition of Rembrandt's etchings . . . we approached the Rembrandthuis three years ago to explore the possibilities," said Dr Ryan. They were "met with a warm welcome", he said. Charles Horton, curator of the library's western collections, said viewing the prints "is like looking over the shoulder of a master". He said the library was very pleased to have been able to get "literally all of the most famous prints created by Rembrandt" for the exhibition.
Mr Cullen recalled the painter's reputation that "spread far and wide in his lifetime due to the quality of his prints, which were avidly collected". Two of the original copper plates on to which Rembrandt etched and from which the prints were made are also on display.