The Omval. Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669), 1645, printed in 2011 | Etching & Drypoint | Holl 209, H 210

If one looks closely one can see a courting couple in the bushes; the boy is crowning his maiden with a garland of flowers. In Rembrandt's time the Omval was a rural area at a bend in the River Amstel where residents of Amsterdam would often fo for a pleasant day out. On the extreme right is the dark mouth of a brick culvert. Sailing boats are moored near some houses. A group is being rowed across the Amstel in a boat with a canopy. The main feature of the etching, however, is a gnarled willow. In its shadow sits the hidden couple.

In the 19th century, connoisseurs and collectors took renewed interest in Rembrandt's wonderfully observed etchings of vilage and river scenes made around Amsterdam. The Omval inspired Haden to expore drypoint technique and begin a series of Thames Views. This project on which (before they fell out) he intended to collaborate with Whistler, was the origin, together with Mreyon's Eaux-Fortes sur Paris, of Whistler's Thames Set.

Edward Twohig RE (Fellow)

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