Landscape with a Stone Bridge — About This Work
Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1638
About the Work
Rembrandt painted only a small number of landscapes. Many are imagined rather than straightforward records of particular places, and the Rijksmuseum considers Landscape with a Stone Bridge to be composed from elements observed in reality rather than a view of one identifiable location.
The scene is modest in scale but unusually dramatic. A stone bridge crosses the water while small boats and figures animate the foreground; a cart appears on the road to the left, a hay barn sits among the trees near the centre, and a church tower is visible in the distance.
Light is the painting's organising force. A shaft of sunlight breaks through the clouds and catches the bridge, trees and buildings while the surrounding landscape remains in shadow. That contrast gives the approaching storm much of its menace and turns an otherwise quiet countryside scene into something charged and theatrical.
The Work
Artist: Rembrandt van Rijn
Title: Landscape with a Stone Bridge
Date: c. 1638
Medium: Oil on panel
Recorded dimensions: 29.5 cm high × 42.5 cm wide
Collection: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Object number: SK-A-1935
Print & Presentation
Palatine presentation: 50 × 40 cm landscape frame.
The complete artwork is preserved without cropping or distortion. Because the source master differs slightly in aspect ratio from the museum's rounded recorded dimensions, the image is scaled to the recorded 29.5 cm height, giving an image width of approximately 41.9 cm. The surrounding white presentation area is incorporated into the print rather than added as a separate mount.
Frame finishes: Black, White or Natural.
Paper & glazing: Enhanced Matte + Perspex; Enhanced Matte + Moth-Eye.
Why Original Scale?
Most art-print shops offer the same image in a choice of Small, Medium and Large sizes. We take a different approach. For each edition, we begin with the recorded dimensions of the original work and reproduce the complete image at that scale, preserving its proportions and avoiding enlargement, reduction, cropping or distortion.
Source: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Digital image: Rijksmuseum-derived file via Wikimedia Commons.
Care: Display in a dry interior away from prolonged direct sunlight and sources of moisture.
Notes from Palatine
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Palatine Editions · Original Scale Editions · palatineeditions.com