Christ and the Woman of Samaria: an Arched Print

Description

Christ and the Woman of Samaria: an Arched Print is Rembrandt van Rijn’s 1658 treatment of the biblical encounter at the well. Rather than presenting a grand public event, the composition concentrates on an exchange between two people. The meeting’s spiritual significance emerges through the relationship of the figures and the quiet act of conversation.

The arched composition gives the scene a contained, intimate character. Etching and drypoint allow delicate linear passages to meet deeper shadows, creating a rhythm between the principal figures and their surroundings. The subject comes from the Gospel of John, where Christ speaks with a Samaritan woman about living water. Rembrandt turns that narrative into an image of attention and encounter, inviting the viewer to linger over the human exchange.

Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Rembrandt collection.