2025-03-doc2 Rembrandt’s insolvency estate: the etching press?

Last week I reported on LinkedIn that available documents from the 17th century showed that Rembrandt used three etching presses throughout his life. In response to a question from an English artist, I addressed the etching press that (may or may not) have been part of his bankrupt estate in 1656 (www.rembrandtsmoney.com, and other podcast channels, titled “RM24017 – Where is Rembrandt’s Etching Press”). Following this podcast, I had a pleasant conversation with Museum Rembrandthuis Senior Curator Leonore van Sloten. At its core, her argument is that the press mentioned in the 1656 inventory should be identified as so-called linen press (“linnenpers”). After all, they were much needed in the household on the Breestraat. These objects, like other pieces of furniture, could also fetch good prices if sold. Moreover, it fits in with the activity: the laundry was dried in the attic, but (as can be seen in various interior scenes by, for example, the painter Pieter de Hooch) starched and stored in cupboards on the first floor. A second argument is of course that other working materials related to Rembrandt’s production activities – such as easels, palettes, brushes and rubbing stones – are also not mentioned in the inventory. Finally, it is difficult to imagine that Rembrandt would have inked, stamped (with all the artistic inspiration and experiment that this entailed) and printed (on slightly wet paper) his etching plates on the chic bel-etage (and even in his private living room, the “sael”), because the work required the artist to get dirty. Of course, an etching-press is known, specifically designed for printing etchings, a technique in which an image is engraved on a metal plate. In addition, there was the linen press. In Rembrandt’s time, the linen press is mainly used for pressing linen, also for making clothing and textiles. Fairly recent research in the Rembrandt House Museum shows that Rembrandt used cooking pots (“grapen”) for his priming work. These contained specific substances that were used for priming panels and canvases. But in the case of presses, it is illogical to combine the dirty work with washing and cleaning laundry. In addition, the printing method also differs per press: the linen press presses an entire surface in one movement, while a printing press for graphic art uses a rolling system in which the pressure is distributed over the plate, and the image is gradually transferred to the paper. This allows the pressure force to be concentrated much more strongly on a smaller surface. ‘To my knowledge’, Leonore adds, ‘linen presses were intended to press wrinkles out of fabric, and prints were produced with rolling presses. Thinking like this, more specific research should be done into what type of presses were used and also whether hybrid use of utensils (for printing on linen or paper, but also to press the done laundry dry with pressure) was also common.’ I just think that art resembles law at least in one aspect. The object seems to be clear, but what it really is or means, can only be explained with (more) certainty after examining all circumstances. In any case, I consider the explanation that Leonore gives to be plausible.