301 4 Core list of Rembrandt drawings:
related to compositions of history paintings

20 drawings, related to
2 lost paintings and
16 extant ones

For an explanation of the nature of this list, see Schwartzlist 301


 

Rembrandt, The raising of the Cross, ca. 1628-29
With compositional elements and details employed in painting of the subject in 1633, in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich (Bredius 548)
Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
References: Benesch 6 recto. Giltaij 1988, nr. 2. MRK 2010


   

Rembrandt, Study for Judas returning the thirty pieces of silver, ca. 1628-29
The related painting is in a private collection in England (Bredius 539A)
Private collection
References: Benesch 8. Van de Wetering and Schnackenburg 2001, p. 226. MRK 2010


  

Rembrandt, The baptism of the eunuch, ca. 1635
Related to a lost painting by Rembrandt that was reproduced in a print by his associate Jan van Vliet in 1631
Munich, Graphische Sammlung
References: Benesch 13. Vignau-Wilberg 2001, nrs. 49-50. MRK 2010


Rembrandt, Kneeling man, ca. 1630
Related to lost painting reproduced in a print dated 1631 by Jan van Vliet
Paris, Louvre
References: Benesch 18. Starcky 1988, nr. 4. MRK 2010


 

Rembrandt, The angel stopping Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, 1635
Related painting, dated 1635, in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg
London, British Museum
References: Benesch 90. Royalton-Kisch 1992, nr. 13. MRK 2010


 

Rembrandt, The lamentation over the dead Christ, ca. 1635
Related painting of about 1635 in the National Gallery, London (Bredius 565)
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett
References: Benesch 100 recto. Bevers 2006, nr. 9. Bomford et al. 2006, nr. 7. Not MRK 2010


 

Rembrandt, Soldiers and girls carousing, ca. 1635
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett
References: Benesch 100 verso. Corpus of Rembrandt paintings, vol. 3, 1989, pp. 143-44. Bevers 2006, nr. 9. Not MRK 2010

Rembrandt, The prodigal son in the tavern, ca. 1635
Frankfurt, Städel Museum
References: Benesch 529. Corpus of Rembrandt paintings, vol. 3, 1989, pp. 143-44. Not MRK 2010

Two of the drawings related to Rembrandt’s painting of himself and his wife Saskia as the prodigal son in the tavern, about 1635, in Dresden (Bredius 30)


 

Rembrandt, The naughty child, ca. 1635
Related to the contemporaneous painting of the abduction of Ganymedes, below
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett
References: Benesch 401. Bevers 2006, nr. 13. Not MRK 2010

Rembrandt, The abduction of Ganymedes, ca. 1635
Regarded as a preparatory drawing for the painting in the Gemäldegalerie, Dresden (Bredius 471)
Dresden, Kupferstich-Kabinett
References: Benesch 92. Dittrich and Ketelsen 2006, nr. 102. Not MRK 2010


Rembrandt, Solomon’s idolatry, ca. 1636-38
The setting bears a strong resemblance to Rembrandt’s earlier painting of another scene in the temple in Jerusalem, Simeon’s song of praise, in the Mauritshuis (Bredius 543)
Paris, Louvre
References: Benesch 136. Starcky 1988, nr. 21. Not MRK 2010


Rembrandt, The preaching of St. John the Baptist, ca. 1637
Related to the painting of about 1636 in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin (Bredius 555)
Private collection
References: Benesch 139A. Not MRK 2010


Rembrandt, The lamentation over the dead Christ, ca. 1637
See the related painting in London (Bredius 565), in the comparison to an earlier drawing of the subject
London, British Museum
References: Benesch 154. Royalton-Kisch 1992, nr. 12. MRK 2010


  

Rembrandt, The entombment of Christ, ca. 1640-41
By all appearances, the drawing is later the 1636-39 painting of the Entombment in Munich (Bredius 562) to which it is related
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum
References: Benesch 482 recto. Schatborn 1985, nr. 19. MRK 2010


Rembrandt, Christ and the woman taken in adultery, ca. 1641
Related to the painting of the subject in the National Gallery, London (Bredius 566)
Paris, Louvre
References: Benesch 532. Starcky 1988, nr. 37. Not MRK



Rembrandt, Susannah surprised by the elders, ca. 1650-52
The drawing is related to two earlier paintings of the subject, in The Hague (Bredius 505) and Berlin (Bredius 516)
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum
References: Benesch 592. Schatborn 1985, nr. 36. Not MRK 2010


Rembrandt, Study for a frame of the painting of St. John the Baptist preaching
Drawn some 20 years later than the painting, but standing in direct relation to it
Paris, Louvre
References: Benesch 969. Starcky 1988, nr. 64. Not MRK 2010


Rembrandt, Isaac and Rebeccah spied upon by Abimelech, ca. 1662
Whether or not the subject is the same, the drawing is related to the painting in the Rijksmuseum known as The Jewish bride (Bredius 416)
New York, private collection
References: Benesch 988. Bevers et al. 2009, nr. 39.1. MRK 2010


  

Rembrandt, The conspiracy of Claudius Civilis, 1661
Drawn on the back of a funeral announcement dated 25 October 1661. Related to the monumental painting for the town hall of Amsterdam, now in Stockholm (Bredius 482). The authenticity of the drawing was called into question by Giltaij 2003, whose opinion is not shared by others, including myself
Munich, Graphische Sammlung
References: Benesch 1061 recto. Vignau-Wilberg 2001, nr. 37. Not MRK. 2010


Rembrandt, Homer dictating to a scribe, ca. 1663
Related to a painting in the Mauritshuis (Bredius 483), ordered by Don Antonio Ruffo in Messina
Stockholm, National Museum
References: Benesch 1066. Magnusson 1992, nr. 160. MRK 2010