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>> Dr. David Drogin: Rembrandt was a very prolific print maker,
and like other important painters
concerned with their professional fame before him,
he took advantage of the printmaking technologies
in order to really proliferate and promulgate his work.
>> Dr. Beth Harris: That's right.
And in fact, I think Rembrandt knew about
a lot of other artists' work through collecting prints.
>> Dr. Drogin: Sure.
>> Dr. Harris: I think, in fact, that he owned a print,
for example, of Leonardo's "Last Supper."
Clearly, it was a way to disseminate your work.
>> Dr. Drogin: Right, yeah.
And he works in a lot of different media in terms of print.
In here, we're looking at a particular one called
"The Three Crosses."
This is an etching and drypoint,
and it's dated to 1653.
>> Dr. Harris: And Christ was crucified at the same time as two other ...
>> Dr. Drogin: Christ is crucified at the same time as two thieves,
who we see on the right and the left,
the good thief and a bad thief.
The moment that's being represented here
is really of Christ's death.
As the sky darkens and light shines directly above from heaven,
as the sky is closing in dark on the sides
and Christ is turning His head up to heaven and saying,
"Father, why have You forsaken me?" and then dies.
>> Dr. Harris: Didn't He also say, "Forgive them
"for they know not what they do?"
>> Dr. Drogin: Right.
According to different gospels
and the different exegetical texts,
there's different versions,
but in essence, it's the last moment.
Rembrandt is using all of his skills,
as he does in painting,
of tenebrism and drama and action
to communicate the narrative in this very dramatic way,
with people running away down on the bottom and ...
>> Dr. Harris: The Roman soldiers on horseback.
>> Dr. Drogin: Roman soldiers with their weapons on horseback,
people kneeling in front of the cross,
Mary fainted to the right,
and down below, figures pulling their hair in grief and so on.
>> Dr. Harris: And other people going about their business.
>> Dr. Drogin: Right, exactly.
But maybe we should say a few words about the
printmaking practice itself ...
>> Dr. Harris: Sure.
>> Dr. Drogin: ... and what's at work here.
As I said, there's two different techniques combined.
It's this etching and drypoint,
which are two techniques that are very frequently
combined together,
because both of them are intaglio types of printing
like engraving also, where you are cutting the lines
into the metal plate that you actually want to print on the paper.
You want to carve the lines into the metal
that are going to hold the ink,
and those lines are then the black lines
that you see on the page.
>> Dr. Harris: So everything that we see here is a line
>> Dr. Drogin: Right.
Now, engraving, which we're not looking at here,
you simply make the line with the tool.
You have a sharply shaped tool,
you carve a line, and then later,
that will hold the ink as it goes to the printing press.
Etching is a lot more labor-intensive,
but it has a lot of advantages as well.
When you're making an etching,
the first thing that's done
is that the metal plate is covered with wax.
Then you actually make your design,
you make your drawing, if you want to call it that, in the wax.
You're not actually carving directly into the metal,
>> Dr. Harris: So it's not as laborious.
>> Dr. Drogin: It's not as laborious in that sense
in terms of making the drawing.
You can make a very easy freehand.
It looks exactly like a drawing, in fact,
because you're not carving metal.
You're just dragging your tools through the wax ...
>> Dr. Harris: So there is a kind of freedom there.
>> Dr. Drogin: It's very loose, draftsman-like freedom to the rendering.
For instance, the figures that are running away,
>> Dr. Harris: Yeah, these look like drawings.
>> Dr. Drogin: It looks like a drawing.
It's probably an etching.
Versus again in engraving, which has a kind of
precise exactitude to it
that you wouldn't confuse for a freehand drawing.
>> Dr. Harris: Right.
>> Dr. Drogin: Anyway, once you made your design in the wax,
then you submerge the plate in acid.
Everywhere that you've made your drawing,
the metal has been exposed,
and the acid is going to eat away at the metal.
After a little while in there,
you take it out and you rinse it off,
and then you scrape off the wax.
Now you have a plate with the lines incised in it from the acid.
>> Dr. Harris: So the chemical is really,
>> Dr. Drogin: Exactly.
>> Dr. Harris: ... into the plate.
>> Dr. Drogin: Exactly.
And you can even get different depth and width of lines
because you could put it in,
have the acid eat away for a little while,
take it out, rinse it off,
cover some of the lines with wax,
and put it in again,
and then you'll have those lines that are bitten into twice
with the acid even more stark and deep.
That's etching.
Drypoint is different.
Drypoint, you are actually working directly
into the surface of the metal,
and you use what's called the drypoint needle,
and you scratch right into the surface of the metal.
You have to think of it almost in violent terms
because you're not using the very sharp tool
that you use with an engraving
that gives you the control and precision of that medium.
Instead, basically, you have to think about
scraping across the plate with a nail.
That's basically what you're doing with a drypoint.
>> Dr. Harris: And so you can tell which parts of the plate
have been marked with drypoint?
>> Dr. Drogin: Right.
The shadows in the right and the left
and the darkest shadows by the people in the lower left,
those are probably done with drypoint
because the drypoint line is not only ...
>> Dr. Harris: Not precise.
but also, as you drag it across the metal,
it creates a bur on both sides of the line.
>> Dr. Harris: Shavings, sort of.
>> Dr. Drogin: The shavings, exactly,
are gathered on each side of a line,
and so when you ink up your plate,
there's not only going to be ink in the line.
The shavings on the side are also going to hold the ink like a sponge,
and so a drypoint line is very thick and velvety.
It has a furry blackness to it that's unique to the drypoint medium.
Again, the things that look like drawing, that's etching.
In the areas where you want to get a dramatic velvety darkness,
like Rembrandt likes to get,
those areas are going to be drypoint.
Here, Rembrandt has combined the etching and the drypoint
to get the kinds of details
but also the dramatic intensity
of the darkness that he wanted to achieve.
>> Dr. Harris: And it is a very dramatic image.
>> Dr. Drogin: It is very dramatic,
but apparently not dramatic enough
because something else that you can do with prints like this
is after you've made your print,
you can go back to the metal plate and change it around.
If there is something that you want to eliminate,
you can polish the plate down,
>> Dr. Harris: You probably only have a,
a certain number of times you can do that though
before you wear away the plate, right?
>> Dr. Drogin: You can get a bunch though.
I mean there are examples where artists like Rembrandt even
have reworked the plates seven or eight or nine times.
But usually, you only do it a couple of times, that's true.
So you can erase things.
You can add figures in.
You can change the way the line is,
if you want to make it darker,
if you want to make it lighter, and so on.
Then you can print it again.
Each time that you make a change and print it,
that's called a new state.
>> Dr. Harris: So it's marvelous because when you rework in oil paint,
you cover up what you've done, and you change it.
In here, you have preserved the original images.
>> Dr. Drogin: Exactly.
Your first prints are always going to be there,
so you'll know what the first state,
which is the first one that you make, looks like.
This is the first state of "The Three Crosses,"
and then Rembrandt went in and he changed it,
and he printed it again, and that was the second state,
and then he went in and changed it and printed it again,
the third state, again in the fourth state,
and again is the fifth state, which we're looking at right here.
>> Dr. Harris: Wow.
>> Dr. Drogin: So he's really changed those quite dramatically.
For instance,
down at the very bottom of the prints in the center,
there were two figures running away.
Let's go back for a second and look at that.
>> Dr. Harris: Headed towards us ...
>> Dr. Drogin: Headed towards the viewer.
In the fifth state, there's one figure on the right,
but the one who is right in the center is gone
because Rembrandt wanted to eliminate the distractions,
really focus your attention even more dramatically
on Christ dying on the cross,
so of course, there's a lot more drypoint on the sides
blackening the sides of the print
but also eliminating figures to enhance the drama.
>> Dr. Harris: Yeah, and it also creates a sense of chaos around Christ,
so there are these legible forms and figures
swirling around the cross in the center,
that emerges from that chaos,
>> Dr. Drogin: Absolutely, sure.
>> Dr. Harris: ... becomes a very powerful image spiritually.
>> Dr. Drogin: Yes, very much so.
Look also,
look at the members of His family and His supporters
below into the right,
the Virgin Mary who's fainted,
probably John the Evangelist, who is clutching his head in grief.
Look at them in the fifth state,
the hands thrown out to the side ...
>> Dr. Harris: Yeah.
>> Dr. Drogin: ... in this expression of grief and awe.
>> Dr. Harris: Yeah.
>> Dr. Drogin: The way the Virgin Mary's face
just seems to be floating in the darkness.
Then look on the right side ...
excuse me, on the left side of the print,
the Roman soldiers.
Here, we see them just standing around,
not really doing anything,
not really even paying very much attention.
Look at the fifth state.
>> Dr. Harris: Much more menacing.
>> Dr. Drogin: Much more menacing.
On the far left, the horse is rearing and riderless.
Whereas before, it had someone sitting on it just standing there,
now it's rearing up on its hind legs,
giving it that dramatic effect.
Also, the two soldiers that are closest to the cross,
look at them in the first state.
One is facing away and turning
>> Dr. Harris: Yeah, they're chatting.
>> Dr. Drogin: ... to his friend, just like he is chatting.
The other one is standing there immediately to the left of Christ,
not really seeming to have much to do with Him.
Here, notice how Rembrandt has turned the figure around on the left
so that now, he faces in on his horse towards Christ,
drawing your attention more towards the center.
The soldier immediately to his left is much more menacing.
>> Dr. Harris: Yeah.
>> Dr. Drogin: Big bulky armor,
this thick, thick sword that he's holding like a giant dagger
that seems to be much more menacing.
>> Dr. Harris: He looks like a Star Wars Stormtrooper.
>> Dr. Drogin: He looks exactly like a Star Wars Stormtrooper.
>>Dr. Harris: Definitely.
>> Dr. Drogin: Definitely communicating that kind of ...
>> Dr. Drogin: ... evil menacing quality.
>> Dr. Harris: Yeah.
A very moving image.
It's legible in so many ways,
and its blackness and its forms that have become obscured
but in a way all the more powerful.
>> Dr. Drogin: Mm-hmm,
and you can tell that this was really
what Rembrandt is exploring here,
is the potential to create that kind of drama and power and awe
through this medium that allows him to change it
>> Dr. Harris: Yeah.
And I also see, in a way,
two sides of Rembrandt.
In one, the first one,
that side of Rembrandt that's interested in people
and ordinary people and life and everyday life
and the way that Rembrandt can draw
so many different kinds of characters and figures
in his early work especially.
but then also that interest in spirituality
and psychological power that's in this later state.
>> Dr. Drogin: Absolutely.
That comes across clearly here.
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