Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606-1669) The Sacrifice of Abraham. 1655. Etching and drypoint. 132 x 155 [134 x 157]. Bartsch, Hollstein 35; Hind 283; New Hollstein 287. Superb and brilliant proof with perceptible drypoint burrs, on laid paper (partial watermark: Strasbourg lily). Two tiny holes visible through transparency at the left edge. Thin band of old glue perceptible around the perimeter on the reverse. A tiny thinning visible by transparency in the upper left-hand corner on the verso, under the mounting tab. Another on the lower left edge of the verso leaf. Two small remnants of mounting tabs at the right edge on verso. Margin fillets. Provenance: - A. P. F. Robert-Dumesnil (1778-1864), Paris (Lugt 2200). - George Baillie-Hamilton, 12th Earl of Haddington (1894-1986), Tyninghame House, East Lothian, Scotland; his sale, Sotheby's, London, 9 November 1953, lot 9 (acquired by Colnaghi). - Colnaghi, London (with stock number C. 28898 in pencil on verso). - Acquired from Colnaghi, 2 March 1959 (85). - Christie's sale "Fifty Prints by Rembrandt van Rijn, A Private English Collection", 5 July 2016, no. 43. "Rembrandt, wishing to render the miracle even more intense and in keeping with traditional iconography, depicted the Angel intervening more concretely than in the biblical account: his hair still waving in the wind from his run and his wings rustling, he vigorously grasped Abraham's two arms in an embrace that was as powerful as it was symbolic. [...] Theatrical gesticulation gave way to the emotion aroused by an entirely spiritual experience. The child's resignation to a fate he does not understand is heartbreaking, and he stretches out his neck with the trust and submission of a lamb. [...] The old man's face, seemingly listening to an inner voice, has a poignant force: pain seems to have marked his features forever and drowned his eyesockets in shadow, as he turns towards the young angel he cannot see. [...] The main group, with its simple, powerful design, is as compact as a round carved from the same block of marble". (S. de Bussierre, et al, Rembrandt, eaux-fortes, collection Dutuit, Paris, Petit Palais, 1986, p. 257).