The Bathers, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1651
etching, h 109mm × w 135mm More details
The openness of this etched composition suggests that Rembrandt perhaps drew on a prepared copperplate on the spot. The bathers in the landscape are rendered with just a few lines and very little detail. The swiftness with which this was executed resulted in some imperfections; the proper right hand of the man just emerging from the water, for instance, is extremely large.