An Oriental standing, full-length
by REMBRANDT Harmenszoon van Rijn, Pen and brown ink heightened with white on paper prepared with brown wash, 222 x 173 mm
Catalogue number: Benesch 207.
Rembrandt occasionally enhanced the modeling of mass and volume by applying opaque white watercolour to create highlights on his drawings. However, he more often used to opaque white medium to correct or edit out lines that he wished to soften or suppress. The medium, based on a solution of lead white, often becomes more transparent with age, revealing the covered ink lines. In the present drawing, the feather in the man’s cap was intended to be deleted, but has now reappeared.