Christ Disputing with the Doctors

Amand -Durand was a great admirer of Rembrandt. He desired to study the plates and techniques of this genius. Unfortunately at the time there only remained about 100 known plates, which were available to produce fine quality impressions. For 100 years the bulk of Rembrandt's plates were shrouded in mystery. As time moved on some of Rembrandt’s plates began to surface. By this time Rembrandt’s plates were miserably worn and dull. Amand-Durand, who by now had made the ranks of a noted engraver, decided to remedy this with his own gifted talents. He researched and intensely studied pieces that were available only in collections. From here on he spent the major part of his life exactly duplicating Rembrandt’s images onto copper plates. These recreations were called Amand-Durand’s after Rembrandt. Their unbelievable clarity and exactness were achieved because Amand-Durand used as his guide, not the worn and dull plates, but the first and second state etchings of the master’s original works. By this time Durand’s talent were known to experts of the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1855, Conservator of the Cabinet de Estampes, George Duplessis so appreciated the genius of this man that he had his work published in books which belong to the Bibliotheque Nationale in France. Amand-Durand was used as master etcher in an anthology of European engravings, which became so valuable that they were kept under locked scrutiny in most libraries. What we have is a noted master duplicating a master some 200 years later.

Soon after Amand-Durand’s death in 1905, his original copper plates were obtained by the prestigious French book publishing family, DOMINIQUE VINCENT et Cie. They mainly published the work for book illustrations to the Bibliotheque Nationale and the Louvre Museum as beautiful exact duplications of Rembrandt’s etchings. Sporadically they sold to private parties interested in this unique creation. It was this reproducing that caused hushed rumor that spread throughout the entire art world. It was discreetly rumored among noted art circles, that in the early 1900’s numerous Amand Durand after Rembrandt etchings found their way into famous collections much to the dismay of many. This was the rumor until 1985. An American art dealer doing research on the availability of Rembrandt etchings came across some so questionably perfect that he decided to research even further. Fierce studying proved that these were in fact Amand-Durand etchings that had been rumored and gossiped about for so many years. Completely aware of what information he and come across and the problems that developed when they were placed in the wrong hands, he resolved to locate the original copper plates. This took quite some time. However with unbelievable resourcefulness he was able to locate the Dominique Vincent family who had been completely unaware of the stories that were inadvertently created with these prints. The Bibliotheque Nationale and the Louvre Museum in Paris had been acquiring these etchings to allow the French to see the unimaginable story behind them. The American dealer purchased all 348 original copper plates. This allowed the American public to also see this unimaginable story of how a noted artisan through his talent and dedication for the great master Rembrandt, created effects of such quality that the repercussions were felt throughout the entire art world for many, many years.