Which of the four New Hollstein states is this impression, and what distinguishes state III from state IV?

State is the single field that most affects how a print is understood: it locates the sheet in the life of the plate. The working record says state III of IV. The four-state division is corroborated, but the project has not verified this sheet's position within it, and has not yet established from a published source what physically distinguishes each state. Without the diagnostic features written down, the claim “state III” is not checkable by anyone, including us.

The four-state division is corroborated by two independent sources: the Rijksmuseum catalogues its impression as New Hollstein 170-1(4), and a Bonhams catalogue entry of December 2022 describes another impression as “New Hollstein's second state (of four)”. Neither source sets out what changes between the states. The project does not hold the New Hollstein volumes.

• 8Unreviewed submissionOwner's working object record, assembled 2026 · Owner / steward · 2026-08
• 5Auction catalogueAuction catalogue entry for the lot as offered, Bonhams New York, 2023 · Bonhams · 2023on request

• This impression is state III, as the working record states.

  Possible

  Currently rests entirely on the working record, which RQ-01 gives reason to doubt on a neighbouring field.

• The later states involve rework of the plate after Rembrandt's lifetime.

  Possible

  Frequently the case with Rembrandt plates, which continued to be printed and reworked for centuries. It is a reasonable prior and it is not evidence. It has been kept out of the object record and left here as a hypothesis until a published catalogue says so for this plate.

1. 01Consult the New Hollstein Rembrandt volumes for the state descriptions and their diagnostic features. Transcribe them into a state feature atlas so that the comparison is reproducible.
2. 02Assemble high-resolution images of securely catalogued impressions of each state from institutional collections and identify each diagnostic feature visually.
3. 03Compare this impression against the atlas, feature by feature, recording each as present, absent or indeterminate rather than reaching a single verdict.

A state determination by a specialist in Old Master prints, made against the catalogue and stated with the features they relied on.

• British Museum collection online ↗
• Rijksmuseum collection ↗
• Impression census, filterable by state

• RQ-01Does this impression carry the signature “Rembrandt f. 1638”, and if not, why not?
• RQ-06Was this impression printed during Rembrandt's lifetime, or later?
• RQ-09Does any drypoint burr survive in this impression, and what does the plate wear indicate?