Blog assignment 6 "Rembrandt van Rijn"

View of Amsterdam from the North West by

Rembrandt van Rijn. This landscape etching is of a recognizable view (but in reverse) of the North East of the 'St. Anthonis Poort, outside the old bastion de Blauwhoofd' (Hind, 1923). Buildings include the Haringpakkerstoren, the Oudekerk, the Montalbaanstoren, the East and West Indian Dockhouses, the Mill on the Blauwhoofd and the Zuiderkerk. Rembrandt had sketched the local landscapes but his etchings of the subject matter were a new departure between about 1640 and 1652. Differences in technique among his landscape etchings and drypoints suggest that, just as he sketched in situ, he may have sometimes sketched directly onto his copper plates in drypoint or with an etching needle.