Rembrandt van Rijn
Jupiter and Antiope, the Larger Plate

CultureDutch
Titles
  • Jupiter and Antiope, the Larger Plate
Date1659
PlaceNetherlands
MediumEtching with burin and drypoint on laid paper, state II/III
DimensionsPlate/Sheet: 5 × 8 in. (12.7 × 20.3 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Brown Foundation Accessions Endowment Fund
Object number2000.53
Non exposé

Explore Further

Object Type
Description

Seventeenth-century connoisseurs prized Rembrandt's etchings as much as they did his oil paintings. Jupiter and Antiope is the most powerfully erotic etching of his late period. Rembrandt created approximately 290 etchings, many postcard-size or smaller, depicting landscapes, portraits, and biblical, mythological, and genre scenes. Jupiter and Antiope is one of only a handful of his prints illustrating explicitly sexual content.


 According to Roman legend, the god Jupiter was so entranced by the beauty of the princess Antiope that he disguised himself as a satyr and took her by force. Here, Rembrandt illustrates the moment before Jupiter wakes the princess, who reclines in a highly artificial pose. The satyr conforms to the conventional appearance of the creature, but the face is undoubtedly that of Rembrandt himself. Pulling away the sheet, he voyeuristically admires Antiope's body.


 Jupiter and Antiope is also the artist's last rendering of a story from classical mythology. By incorporating large white areas of negative space, Rembrandt intensifies the gentle, dreamlike eroticism of the subject. This print borrows heavily from Annibale Carracci's depiction of the myth, and, in turn, Rembrandt's rendering later inspired one of Pablo Picasso's most famous prints, Faun Unveiling a Sleeping Girl.


 


ProvenanceRichard Houlditch junior (d. 1760), London (Lugt 2214); John Barnard (d. 1784), London (Lugt 1419); Dr. Julius Elischer von Thurzóbánya (1846-1909), Budapest (Lugt 807 & 824); Alcide Donnadieu (1791-1861), London (Lugt 97); Otto Gerstenberg (1848-1935), Berlin (Lugt 2785); Leonard Gow, Christie's London, May, 1937, lot 196; Captain Gordon, Nowell-Usticke, Parke Bernet, NY, October, 1967, lot 76; Monogram EBP (not in Lugt)
Exhibition History"Acid on Metal: The Art of Etching and Aquatint," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 11 September - 27 November 2011.
Catalogue raisonnéBartsch 203; B.B. 59-B; W.B. 203, I/II Hind 302 Münz #143 Biörkland #59B

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

The Entombment
Rembrandt van Rijn
c. 1654
Etching with drypoint and burin on laid paper, state III/IV
52.18
Portrait of a Young Woman
Rembrandt van Rijn
1633
Oil on wood
2004.3
Self-Portrait with Various Studies
Rembrandt van Rijn
c. 1631–1632
Etching on laid paper
BF.1998.7
The Circumcision in the Stable
Rembrandt van Rijn
1654
Etching, state II/V
2000.84
recto
Johannes Sadeler I
1585
Engraving on laid paper
BF.2016.7.4
Sketchbook
George Romney
September 1783
Book with pen and sepia ink, brush and sepia wash, black chalk and graphite on laid paper
78.187
Self-Portrait in a Cap and Scarf with the Face Dark: Bust
Rembrandt van Rijn
c. 1663
Etching on laid paper, state III/V
81.162
St. Jerome Kneeling in Prayer, Looking Down
Rembrandt van Rijn
1635
Etching on paper, state II/II
81.161
Head of an Old Man
Rembrandt van Rijn
no date
Oil on wood
52.17
Rembrandt and His Wife Saskia
Rembrandt van Rijn
1636
Etching on laid paper, state III/III
52.20
Joseph Telling His Dreams
Rembrandt van Rijn
1638
Etching, state III/VI
52.19
The Raising of Lazarus: Small Plate
Rembrandt van Rijn
1642
Etching on paper, state I/II
74.281