Degas, Desboutin and Rembrandt: parallels in prints

In nineteenth-century France, artists, critics, and their readers praised the art of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–69). His paintings could be admired in the Louvre, which was increasing its collection of his art, while his prints were circulated or reproduced in publications. Both Edgar Degas (1834–1917) and Marcellin Desboutin (1832–1902) studied, sketched and copied from Rembrandt’s art. And these Rembrandt prints reveal remarkable parallels with Degas and Desboutin.

Etchings include tender portraits of Rembrandt’s supporters, such as Abraham Francen, hushed nocturnal inky scenes from the streets of Amsterdam, and hurriedly etched figures capturing fleeting moments from Rembrandt’s daily life.