The Goldsmith

Rembrandt van Rijn

1655

Etching and drypoint on gampi paper

Minneapolis Institute of Art

An etching depicts a man in a turban and apron working on a sculpture of a nude figure, possibly a goldsmith. He is shown in profile, bent over his work, with a child or smaller figure standing beside him, also looking at the sculpture. The scene is set indoors with tools and a workbench visible. This statue is an allegory of Charity. The Dutch hammered on this virtue throughout the 1600s, even posting public donation boxes for the poor. Rembrandt used the theme to comment on the intimate connection between artists and their craft. Wearing a craftsman’s apron, the smith slowly adds his finishing touches, in no hurry to have his creation leave his shop. He shows his Charity group the tenderness of a parent, and Charity gives to him the rewards of his creativity. Rembrandt printed this miraculous little work on a golden, slightly iridescent Japanese paper made from the gampi plant. He apparently got hold of nearly all of the r