The capture of Christ.

Engraving, 16,8 x 21,8 cm, signed "JG Vliet fec" (trimmed just within the borderline).

Stuck by upper corners under passe-partout.

1st state, from Van Vliet's series "The Passion". The engraver's collaboration with Rembrandt is a heavily debated item in literature, with Rembrandt's influence being visible in his masterful handling of light and shadow in this print. However, in 1631, when he had his first prints after Rembrandt published, Van Vliet already was a highly accomplished etcher, at least from a technical viewpoint and compared to the better draughtsman that Rembrandt was. A number of Rembrandt's early small prints were even reworked by another hand. In just one year, in 1631, Rembrandt’s technique as an etcher improved drastically. Besides this brief moment of collaboration, van Vliet worked independently and continued, between 1631 and 1634, making a number of etchings after originals by Rembrandt.
Van Vliet's "Passion" series is, unfortunately, not dated, so that its place in the context of the collaboration with Rembrandt cannot easily be estimated: was it after Rembrandt or rather inspired by him?
Ref. Hollstein XLI: 6. - J. Rutgers, "Jan van Vliet and Rembrandt van Rijn: Their Collaboration Reassessed", in S.S. Dickey, Rembrandt and his circle, AUP, 2017, pp. 287.