116 Christ and the Canaanite
Woman
Pen and brown ink and brown wash, white gouache cor-
rections; H: 19.9 cm (y^7 /8 in.); W: 27.9 cm (n in.)
83.00.19 9
MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS: At bottom right corner,
collection marks of Jonathan Richardson, Sr. (L. 2184),
Sir Joshua Reynolds (L. 2364), Thomas Hudson
(L.2432).
PROVENANCE: Jonathan Richardson, Sr., London; Jon-
athan Richardson, Jr., London; Sir Joshua Reynolds,
London; Thomas Hudson, London; H. E. Morritt,
Rockby Park, Yorkshire (sale, Christie's, London, July
29, 1937, lot 15); J. B. S. Morritt; by descent to R. A.
Morritt (sale, Sotheby's, London, December 4, 1969, lot
20); sale, Christie's, London, April 12, 1983, lot 157.
EXHIBITIONS: None.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: A.M. Hind, The Vasari Society for the
Reproduction of Drawings by Old Masters, 2nd ser. (Ox-
ford, 1920), vol. 10, no. n; W. R. Valentiner, Rembrandt:
Des MeistersHandzeichnungen (Stuttgart, 1934), vol. 2, p.
434, no. 823; O. Benesch, Rembrandt: Werk undForschung
(Vienna, 1935), p. 55; J. Rosenberg, Rembrandt (Cam-
bridge, Mass., 1948), p. 213; O. Benesch, The Drawings
of Rembrandt (London, 1957), v°l- 5> n°- 9 2I> fig- H3^2 ;
J. Rosenberg, Rembrandt: Life and Work (London, 1964),
p. 340; O. Benesch, The Drawings of Rembrandt (London,
1973), vol. 5, no. 921, fig. 1196.
THE SCENE DEPICTED HERE SHOWS THE CANAANITE
woman who attempted to approach Christ and was
turned away at first by the apostles (Matthew 15.22-28).
Rembrandt has composed a tightly knit, classical group
whose unity is accentuated by an emphatic isocephalism.
The woman from Canaan shown at the left is set slightly
apart, visually accenting the dramatic moment. The
composition has two focal areas: the energetic interplay
of the apostle at the left with the Canaanite woman, and
the centrally placed figure of Christ who walks on im-
passively, at this juncture unaware of her presence. Two
onlookers appear between the woman and the apostle,
situated on a lower ground and animating the scene, as
does the finely sketched landscape at the right, which is
striking in its economy and spatial suggestiveness.
The drawing is a prime example of how Rembrandt
corrected and altered a composition as he worked. The
left hand and foot of Christ were covered over in white
gouache, and the face of one of the onlookers at the left
is partially blotted out in ink. Furthermore, Rembrandt
seems to have begun with some detail of the ground at
the left, as a spatial entry point to this side of the com-
position. An analogous grandeur of conception occurs in
a drawing of the Crucifixion (Stockholm, National-
museum, inv. 2006; Benesch 1973, vol. 5, no. 924). Ad-
ditional comparable drawings include Abraham Dismiss-
ing Hagar and Ishmael and Tobias and the Angel Taking
Leave ofRaguel (Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv. 1930:2,
1930:18; Benesch 1973, vol. 5, nos. 916, 817)/which ex-
hibit similar figure types modeled by fine hatching as
well as considerable variety in the width and character of
lines. The drawing has been dated by Valentiner (1934,
vol. 2, p. 434) to circa 1645 and by Benesch to about
1652-165 3 (1973, vol. 5, no. 921). The classical cast of the
scene argues for a date toward 1650, around the time of
paintings such as the Supper at Emmaus of 1648 (Paris,
Louvre).i. P. Schatborn, Drawings by Rembrandt, His Anonymous Pupils
and Followers, Catalogue of the Dutch and Flemish Drawings
in the Rijksprentenkabinet, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, vol. 4
(The Hague, 1985), nos. 40, 41.260 DUTCH SCHOOL • REMBRANDT