Rembrandt: The Sign and the Light

Rembrandt: The Sign and the Light commemorates the 350th anniversary of the death of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669), the most prominent artist of the Dutch Golden Age. The exhibition presents a comprehensive overview of Rembrandt’s print oeuvre and shows how his innovations in printmaking — specifically, etching — helped immortalize him as one of the most accomplished printmakers of all time.​

Rembrandt created over 300 etchings, engravings, and drypoints throughout his career. His prints combine his exceptional skills as a draftsman with his mastery of intaglio printmaking to create crisp lines and luminous, theatrical scenes. He frequently spent years working on a single image, making changes (referred to as “states”) and impressions between the various changes. Rembrandt also experimented with inks and papers, all of which increased the popularity and collectability of his prints. 

The Sign and the Light features 69 prints from self-portraits and portraits of family and friends to Old and New Testament stories, landscapes, and genre scenes. The exhibition also offers visitors the opportunity to view these prints with magnifying glasses and learn about Rembrandt’s printmaking process through display cases and interactive stations created by IS Projects, a public-access printmaking and book arts studio in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website