Lot Essay
Since its creation Christ healing the Sick has been admired as Rembrandt's most ambitious, complex and highly-worked composition as a printmaker. In it he used every tool at his command, and worked in a variety of styles, from the freely drawn Pharisees to the detailed and precise rendering of textures on the figures at the right. However, certain elements seem incomplete, such as the rather mechanical shading at the upper left, and the figure with his back to the viewer at the left, who appears unfinished save for his hands and hat. This, and the differing styles, has given rise to the idea that it was worked on over a number of years.