These pen-and-ink drawings by Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606–1669 Amsterdam) are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of art (here and here), though not on display. They depict the corpse of Elsje Christiaens hanging from a gibbet on the waterfront of Amsterdam.
After her confession she was sentenced to death by strangling at a garrote while being hit on the head by the murder weapon. She was executed at the central Dam square. Her body was displayed “to be digested by the air and the birds” at the gallow field outside the city. It hung on a gibbet, together with the axe, to deter others. There she was drawn by the then 57-year old Rembrandt.Via Robs Webstek - a very interesting blog.
Thank you! What fascinates me is that the drawings show the gruesome reality of the scene. It’s not staged or imaginary. There was no need to sweeten it up, he just sat there and sketched what he saw.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It seems he was just using the occasion to practice his skills, rather than crafting something for commercial use.
DeleteCompare this one by another artist -
http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2010/09/corpses-of-de-witt-brothers.html
This historical occurrence is the theme of a novel by Dutch author Margriet de Moor: De Schilder en het Meisje (The painter and the girl), published 2010 by De Besige Bij, Amsterdam. Other works by this author have been translated into English, so this very well written novel may well be translated too.
DeleteThis historical occurence is the theme of a well written Dutch novel by author Margriet de Moor. De Schilder en het Meisje (The Artist and the Girl) was published in 2010 by De Besige Bij publisher, Amsterdam. The author has been translated into English and other languages so this book could very well be translated soon.
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