Christ Returning from the Temple with His Parents
Medium
Etching and drypoint on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/plate: 9.4 × 14.4 cm (3 3/4 × 5 11/16 in.); Sheet: 9.6 × 14.6 cm (3 13/16 × 5 3/4 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
29242
Art Historical Context
In 1654, Rembrandt van Rijn, the Dutch Baroque master renowned for his dramatic use of light and shadow (chiaroscuro), created *Christ Returning from the Temple with His Parents*. This intimate etching draws from the New Testament story in Luke 2:41-52, depicting the young Jesus, around 12 years old, walking homeward with Mary and Joseph after his profound discussion with temple scholars. Rembrandt captures a tender family moment—Jesus gazes thoughtfully ahead, Mary looks back with concern, and Joseph trails protectively—infusing the divine narrative with human warmth and everyday realism, a h...
About the Artist
Rembrandt van Rijn · 1606–1669
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669) stands as one of the greatest visual artists in the history of Western art and the most important Dutch painter of the 17th century. Born in Leiden to a prosperous miller's family, Rembrandt transformed painting through his revolutionary use of light and shadow, his psychological depth in portraiture, and his elevation of etching to a fine art. His approx...