Christ Preaching ('La Petite Tombe') (c. 1652): Art, History and Details

Christ Preaching ('La Petite Tombe') (c. 1652) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Rembrandt’s prints with biblical subject matter often focus on Christ’s relationships with ordinary people. Here, he depicted Christ preaching in a humble village, with onlookers ranging from distracted children to turbaned merchants. Rembrandt worked more prolifically in etching than any artist before him, using it for about 300 prints. This work demonstrates the draftsman-like, sketchy technique he brought to the medium. In this impression, he allowed ink to remain on the plate’s surface during printing to create the dramatic shadows in the background, producing a contrast to the spiritual glow of light emanating from Christ.

Object facts

• Title: Christ Preaching ('La Petite Tombe')
• Date: c. 1652
• Creator attribution: Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669)
• Culture: Netherlands
• Type: Print
• Technique: etching, drypoint, and burin
• Dimensions: Sheet: 15.8 x 21 cm (6 1/4 x 8 1/4 in.); Platemark: 15.5 x 20.7 cm (6 1/8 x 8 1/8 in.)
• Collection: PR - Etching
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1958.306

Collection credit

Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland in honor of William Mathewson Milliken

Further reading listed by the museum

• Cleveland Museum of Art, “Rembrandt Print Given to Museum,” May 29, 1958, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
• Prasse, Leona E. “‘Christ Preaching’ by Rembrandt Van Rijn.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 46, no. 3 (March 1959): 44–47.
• Benesch, Otto. “A Drawing by Rembrandt from His Last Years.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 50, no. 3 (March 1963): 43–45.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.