dac > educational programs > learning objects > comparative >

Rembrandt & Baillie "100 Guilder Print"

This learning object enables viewers to compare two versions of Rembrandt's etching of Christ Healing the Sick, better known as the "Hundred Guilder Print" (among the traditional explanations for the latter title is a story, reported by Gersaint in 1751, that the artist traded one impression to a Roman art dealer for Marcantonio Raimondi engravings valued at 100 guilders).

Rembrandt worked on this print's copper plate during the 1640s. A century later an Irish art dealer and printmaker, Captain William Baillie, acquired the plate and heavily reworked the image. Baillie then made and sold more prints from the modified plate; later he cut it into pieces and printed its sections separately.

Media files

Each QuickTime movie below begins with Rembrandt's original print and ends with Baillie's impression from a century later, making readily evident certain changes he made to Rembrandt's more subtle image. The first version will download most efficiently over slow Internet connections; later versions have more gradual transitions and larger file sizes.

To use these learning objects requires software such as QuickTime Player, available as a free download for Macintosh and Windows.

Suggestions for use

Click on your media player's "Play" button to watch the image change automatically from the earlier to the later print (with a speed and subtlety dependent upon which version of the learning object is being viewed). Click on the player's "beginning" and "end" buttons to toggle instantly between the two images. Drag the player's timeline marker (usually a triangle or circle on a line below the picture) back and forth while looking at the entire image or one area of it to see how Baillie radically changed specific aspects of Rembrandt's plate: how, despite preserving the overall composition, the later print is in many ways a different work altogether. The intermediate renditions of the image do not reflect actual steps in Baillie's reworking of the plate, but this digital transition effect complements abrupt comparison to make more perceptible some relationships between the two prints.

Original object information

Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669), Christ Healing the Sick, ca. 1649. Alternate title: "The Hundred Guilder Print." Etching, drypoint, and engraving on Japanese paper. Second of two states. Dimensions: plate 279 x 392 mm. (11 x 15-3/8 in.); plate dimensions are irregular. Provenance: Mrs. E.H. Harriman. References: Bartsch 74; Hind 236; White and Boon second of two states. Accession no. 1952.D2.2. Gift of George W. Davison (B.A. Wesleyan 1892), 1952.

Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669), Christ Healing the Sick, ca. 1649, plate altered and printed ca. 1775 by Capt. William Baillie (1723-1810). Alternate title: "The Hundred Guilder Print." Etching, drypoint, and engraving on blue-tone wove paper. Posthumous restrike. Dimensions: plate 278 x 395 mm. (11 x 15-1/2 in.). Accession no. 1952.D2.3. Gift of George W. Davison (B.A. Wesleyan 1892), 1952.

Non-interactive images of more Rembrandt prints also are available for viewing.

Terms of use

These learning objects are provided for study and teaching via the DAC website. They may be downloaded and saved for private reference or direct (in-person) instructional use, but may not be reused in any other way without permission from museum staff.