A large collection of Rembrandt etchings is being shown in the Fogg Art Museum as a source of research for students of etching at Wellesley. The exhibit will last a few days longer, until the Wellesley girls have left Rembrandt behind.

The collection is being exhibited through the courtesy of the Department of Prints. A large number of these prints comprise the group left to Harvard by Thomas Gray in 1857.

Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, to give his full name, lived from 1606 to 1669. Although his paintings date from anywhere between 1627 and 1669, his etchings all seem to have been done between 1639 and 1660. In subject matter they are divided into portraits, landscapes, and Bible stories.

His portraits are notable for the expression which he put into them. Several are of his wife, Saskia, who died in 1642. His landscapes show a grace uncommon to most etchings, especially in the trees and clouds. It is perhaps due to this experience in nature that he succeeded in putting so much life into his biblical representations. Instead of following the old tradition of showing a pale saint gazing lifelessly towards Heaven, he has chosen subjects such as "Abraham Entertaining the Three Angels," "Christ Driving Out Money Changers from the Temple," and "Christ Healing the Sick." The last is also known as the "Hundred Guilder Print" because it sold soon for one hundred guilders, and was the first of his works to bring success to his apparently unrewarded life.

However, it was the landscape etchings that have since proved the most sought after. Taking "The Three Trees," done in 1643, as an example, it will be interesting to trace the value attached to it as the years went by, as well as the different nations whose exchange was used. It sold for eight pounds, eight shillings in 1798; four pounds, four shillings in 1834; 120 florins in 1847; 170 pounds in 1893; 12,600 francs in 1909; 6100 marks in 1909; and 1155 pounds in 1918!

It must be remembered that, although these quotations may be for different prints, they are all equally genuine originals. The more prints the artist makes from his plate, the less valuable they naturally become. In recent years the edition has often been limited to 50.