The Phoenix or the Statue Overthrown
Medium
etching and drypoint
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1946.21.163
Art Historical Context
Rembrandt van Rijn's *The Phoenix or the Statue Overthrown* (1658) is a masterful etching and drypoint from the National Gallery of Art's Rosenwald Collection. Created during Rembrandt's mature period in Amsterdam, this print captures the Baroque master's fascination with dramatic narratives and human emotion. The title evokes themes of renewal and downfall—the phoenix symbolizing rebirth amid the collapse of a grand statue, perhaps alluding to the fall of empires or tyranny, a motif resonant in 17th-century European thought amid political upheavals. Rembrandt's innovative use of etching and ...
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...