Rembrandt's "Synagogue" and Some Problems of NomenclatureAuthor(s): Ludwig MünzReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 3, No. 1/2 (Oct., 1939 - Jan.,1940), pp. 119-126Published by: The Warburg InstituteStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/750196 .Accessed: 22/04/2012 05:27

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

The Warburg Institute is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of theWarburg and Courtauld Institutes.

http://www.jstor.org

REMBRANDT'S "SYNAGOGUE" AND SOME PROBLEMS OF NOMENCLATURE

By Ludwig Miinz

Certain works by Rembrandt, to which he gave no title, were assigned

names by his contemporaries. It is the aim of the following article to investigate how far these names were determined by the formal qualities of the works concerned. In this connection, an attempt is made to emend the title (first used in the I8th century) of Rembrandt's etching "The Synagogue" (M. 234). In exploring this curious chapter in the history of nomenclature, we are mainly concerned with Rembrandt's early studies for heads; to these and to their derivatives his interpreters frequently attached the names of historical and biblical personages, such as : Hermes Trismegistus, Heraklitus, Democritus, Divinus Plato, Aristoteles, Zenon, Epicurus, Philon le Juif, Marc Agripe Philosophe allemand, Thomas Morus, Le docteur Faust Philosophe, Mahomet, Scanderbec Roy d'Albanie, Ragoczy, Gaston de Foix.' Moreover, a Rembrandt etching was sometimes used as the source for portraits of more than one person. Thus the penitent Judas of J. van Vliet is Heraclitus for Ciartres and Hollar;2 Rembrandt's "Bearded Old Man" (H. 92) (P1. 22a) becomes Plato for Ciartres (P1. 22b) and Marcus Agrippa for B. Moncornet (P1. 22d);3 and a further example, of which the full implications have never been realised, is Rembrandt's painting of a young man, dated I6334 (P1. 22g). In Schabaelje's book, where it is reproduced in reverse from de Leeuw's etching, it is called the chaste Joseph5

1 Rudolf Payer von Thurn, Der historische Faust im Bilde, Wien, 1917, p. 2 f. contains most of the quoted examples, but his list is not quite complete.

2 Cf. also de Vliet's etching B. 26 after Rembrandt which is sometimes called Ra- goczy and sometimes Scanderbec. Payer von Thurn, op. cit., p. 5.

3 Franqois Langlois, called Ciartres, born March 12th, 1588 at Chartres, died January 14th, 1647 at Paris, was in his time a very successful engraver and publisher. He published also etchings of and after Claude Vignon; van Dyck painted his portrait in the costume of a savoyard. B. Moncornet published encyclopaedic portrait series of the same kind as Ciartres. He was born about I6I5 at Rouen and died after 167o, probably in Paris.

4 The existing picture is referred to in Hofstede de Groot's list of Rembrandt's works as no. 431 "Young Man in Profile" (Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten holldn- dischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts, Vol. VI : Rembrandt, 1915) and is reproduced in Valentiner, Rembrandt's Gemilde, p. 145 as

being in the possession of Charles Sedlmayer, Paris. Bredius did not include it in his volume of Rembrandt's paintings (Vienna, Phaidon Press, 1935) and Kurt Bauch (Jakob Adriaen's Backer, Berlin, I926, p. 30o, No. 90 of his Catalogue) attributes it to Backer. But the contemporary etching by W. de Leeuw with the signature "Ri 1633" confirms the attribution of the composition to Rem- brandt although the Sedlmayer picture may not be authentic. The three copies dealt with in the text are made in reverse after de Leeuw's etching.

5 J. P. Schabaelje, Emblemata Sacra, Am- sterdam, Tyman Houthaak, I654, contains this print with the caption : "Een schoon en eel gemoet, Verwint het quaet met 't goet." The following lines of the text draw attention to the fact that the biblical Joseph is intended to personify Virtue. The engraving is by Savery and is signed "Rembrandt Inventor."

By Savery is also in the same book a portrait signed : "R. van rijn inventor" of Rembrandt's father, personifying "Roman Statesmanship." This corresponds, with the

I19

120 L. MJ3NZ

(Pl. 23a); for the French engraver and publisher Ciartres it is Gaston de la Foix;1 and, finally, in an engraving, probably published by Pierre Aubry in Strasbourg, it becomes Epicurus (P1. 23b).

The aim of the interpreter seems to have been to represent his conception of a particular worthy, rather than simply to copy Rembrandt's work; for we find these spurious "portraits" either illustrating books about the person concerned or in portrait-series of, for instance, philosophers, rulers or warriors.

What led the copyist to render his conceptions by means of these particular works of Rembrandt and, in some cases, by modifying them? There were two reasons; and the degree to which they operated depended on the education and fancy of the engraver. The first was the guidance given by a known authentic prototype. This operated in the case of the "Divinus Plato" engraving, edited by the publisher Ciartres (P1. 22b), who must have known the ancient bust, of which many replicas exist2 (P1. 22c). It cannot be only coincidence that "Divinus Plato" has acquired the rather long and strong nose of the ancient bust and the same kind of moustache. But, any doubt as to whether Ciartres made use of the ancient prototype is dispelled by observation of the manner in which the lower lip of Rembrandt's "Bearded Old Man" (P1. 22a) has been transformed in the "Divinus Plato." Finally, in Rembrandt's etching the beard, owing to his use of light and shade, appears as a white mass of hair; whereas in the copy-following the ancient prototype-it is changed into a great number of separate curls; and it is clear that this is not a weakness in the etcher's technique, since other prints by Ciartres show a more Rembrandtesque treatment of the beard.

The same process can be discerned in the case of Ciartres' "Democritus,"

exception of the headdress, especially in the expression and lighting of the head, with the print of van Vliet after Rembrandt called "Mohamed" (cf. also Rembrandt's etching H. 22). This is a further example of the changing of names with which the present article is concerned.

Still a third model of Rembrandt is adopted in Schabaelje's Emblemata, namely the "Hermes Trismegistus." But it may be mentioned that this etching is not, as has been assumed by Hind (202), the original by Rembrandt, but a copy of it, as O. H. Bar- nard has shown ("Note on Rembrandt's student at a table by candle-light," in Catalogue 33, Craddock & Barnard, Tunbridge Wells, I935). As Schabaelje's book appeared at Amsterdam during Rembrandt's life-time, it may be assumed that the names were not given without Rembrandt's approval.

1 Cf. Hofstede de Groot, Urkunden iiber Rembrandt, Haag, I9o6, p. 26 : "Portrait of a young man, etching by Willem de Leeuw. A copy in reverse with the inscrip-

tion H R invent. F.L.D. Ciartres ex. Cum Privilegio. Gaston Foisseius."

2 Here can only be hinted at the manner in which ancient portraits themselves are based on the idea of the personality and the profession of the depicted person. Hekler, Die Bildniskunst der Griechen und RUmer, 1912, points out clearly that there exists a process of creating symbols, and this corresponds to the activity of the I7th century interpreters of Rembrandt.

In this context it may be mentioned that the portrait of a person is apt to change with growing fame, the artist being inspired by the knowledge of his model's achievments. Kruckenberg, Der Gesichtsausdruck des Men- schen, Berlin, 1913, shows with a series of portraits of Goethe how his face and mainly his forehead were reshaped by artists after he had become famous.

Ciartres' "Divinus Plato" is signed by an otherwise unknown artist : "H Padoanus inventor."

22

a Rembrandt, Old Man. Etching (H. 92) (pp. I 19, 122)

Aw

c• A Aipt twa. os

i A si

b-Divinus Plato. Engraving, c Plato. Ancient Bust. Rome, d B. Moncornet, Marcus

published by Ciartres (p. 120) Vatican (p. 120) Agrippa. Engraving(p. 122)

e-Epicurus. Ancient Bust. f-Besson, Gaston de la g-Copy after Rembrandt. London, British Museum Foix. Engraving (p. 121) Detail of a Portrait. Paris, (p. 122) Sedlmayr Coll. (p. 121)

REMBRANDT'S "SYNAGOGUE" 12I

which is copied from van Vliet's etching of a "Laughing Man" after Rembrandt;1 the decision to copy this work being governed, not only by the fact that the subject laughs, but also by its similarity to the traditional ancient portraits of Democritus.

The case of the portrait by Ciartres, called "Gaston de Foix," may be similar: it is based on W. de Leeuw's "Portrait of a young Man" after Rembrandt; and Ciartres may have been induced to give it this name because of its resemblence to a particular picture in Paris, which has always been called Gaston de la Foix and which is attributed to Giorgione2 (P1. 22f).

But the 'authentic' portraits were really used only to justify the giving of a name. Even where the engraver tries to work as his historical conscience directs, it is the work of Rembrandt without titles, which is decisive in characterising the subject. Plato is represented in the costume of Rembrandt's original and as a typical scholar of that time; and Gaston de la Foix is made far more the youth, who dies the early death of a hero, than in Giorgione's picture, which was criticised in the I8th century for representing him as too old.3

The interpreter is evidently striving to portray his conception of the essentials of his subject; Rembrandt provides him with the means.

The second and more usual method of producing such portraits may prove the correctness of this interpretation. Since the imagination tends to build up images of historical figures from a few particularly striking features, the copyist has to apply a similarly selective method to the creation of historical portraits. It has been mentioned that Rembrandt's etching of

1 This etching was also published under the same name by Wenzel Hollar (Payer von Thurn, op. cit., p. 5). The picture by Rembrandt is in the Mauritshuys, The Hague (HdG. 543, Bredius

I34). 2 Ciartres' print is not known to me. It is probably similar to the copy after Rembrandt by Backer (cf. p. I19, n. 4, P1. 22g), for this picture shows clearly a thin beard round the cheekbones as does the authentic portrait of Gaston de la Foix by Giorgione. It may be assumed that Ciartres' etching shows the same beard and that this was his reason for calling it Gaston de la Foix.

The picture attributed to Giorgione is lost, but many copies are in existence. The work might be, according to Dr. J. Wilde, to whom I am very indebted for this informa- tion, by the hand of the young Titian.

3 In this connection the text accompanying the illustration P1. 22f in J. Couche's Galerie du Palais Royal (3 vols. I786-I8o8) may be mentioned :

Ecole venetienne, IIIe Tableau de Georges Giorgon. Il y a cependant une remarque essentielle 'a faire sur le Portrait de Gaston de Foix. L'Histoire rapporte qu'il mourut t l'1ge de 24 ans; et cepen-

dant le Peintre l'a repr6sent6 beaucoup plus Age comme on peu s'en convaincre soi-meme a l'inspection du Portrait.

Gaston de Foix, Duc de Nemours et Comtes d'Etampes, 6toit neveu de Louis XII, par sa Mare, soeur de ce Monarque celui-ci repetoit avec com- plaisance : Gaston est mon ouvrage; c'est moi qui l'ai 6leve, et qui l'ai form' aux vertus qu'on admire deja en lui. Ce jeune H6ros ne d6mentit point les esperences qu'on avoit congu de ses talens. Envoyez en Italie pour soutenir les droits de son oncle, il a rendu son nom '

jamais cel6bre par la Bataille de Ravenne qu'il gagna le jour de Paques II Avril 1512. Il voulut apres le combat envelopper un reste d'Espagnols qui se retiroient : mais son Cheval ayant 6t6 renvers6; il reput dans le c6t6 droit un coup de pique qui lui donna la mort. Louis XII, en apprenant cette nouvelle, s'6cria; je voudrois n'avoir plus un pouce de terre en Italie, et pouvoir t ce prix faire revivre mon cher Neveu,

Gaston de Foix, et tous les braves hommes qui ont peri avec lui. Dieu nous garde de remporter jamais de telles victoires!

122 L. MONZ

an Old Man (P1. 22a)', which served as model for the Plato, was used by another publisher-Moncornet-as the portrait of Agrippa of Nettesheim (P1. 22d). Now, it is completely different from the historical portrait of Agrippa, who was beardless;2 and the only explanation is that a venerable costume and a flowing beard-symbol of mature age and thought-so completely represented for this copyist the idea of a philosopher, that he did not trouble to consult the authentic portraits.

The same method of applying a name to a head on the basis of purely emotional characteristics is to be found when Rembrandt's "Head of a young Man," which for Ciartres became Gaston de la Foix, is turned by the Dutchman Schabaelje into a portrait of the biblical Joseph (P1. 23a) and by a third publisher, probably Aubry in Strasbourg, into the philosopher Epicurus (P1. 23b).3 There is no need to point out that the likeness to Joseph is quite imaginary. The downcast eyes of Rembrandt's young man are signs of modesty and humility, and the rich costume shows that these virtues received their reward. This is sufficient to make the picture convincing for all who know that it represents the biblical Joseph. It becomes an equally convincing portrait of Epicurus for those who think of him only as the philosopher of sensual pleasure. This is not the true Epicurus, and there are ancient ideal portraits, in which his face is lined with sorrow (P1. 22e). For the seventeenth century publisher, however, Epicurus was simply the philosopher "qui mettoit tout le bonheur dans la volupte." In this case, youth has become sensuality; and the costume, which represented heroism in the case of Gaston de la Foix and riches, the reward of virtue, in the case of Joseph, is for this publisher associated with voluptuousness. The interpretation of the Rembrandt prototype is, there- fore, largely conditioned by the idea with which it is approached.

Naturally, with this method, those parts of Rembrandt's original are emphasised which have a special bearing on the copyist's endeavour to portray an historical person. This can easily be seen by comparing the downcast eyes of Joseph and Epicurus, signifying in the one case chastity and in the other sensuality.

However interesting this phenomenon may be in itself, it also leads to some assertions of a general character on Rembrandt's work. If it was possible that one and the same model could be given so many and yet such plausible names, it would seem that, for these copyists in Paris and the provinces, Rembrandt's works were charged with meaning and emotion;4

1 The same old man was often used by Rembrandt as a model. Only the etchings in which he appears may be mentioned : H. 28 (1630), H. 27 (1630), H. 47 (1631), H. 48, H. 49, H. 26, H. 93 (1632), H. 94 (1632).

2An authentic portrait of Agrippa of Nettesheim in H. Morley, Life of C. Agrippa, 1856.

3 The Epicurus engraving has never been published before. A comparison with the Heraclitus print copied after Rembrandt's

"Judas" (repr. in Payer von Thurn, op. cit., pl. 5) shows that the Epicurus must belong to the series published by Pierre Aubry in Strasbourg.

4 A process here takes place similar to that described by Wilhelm Fringer, "Deutsche Vorlagen zu russischen Volksbilderbogen des I8. Jahrhunderts," Jahrbuch fiir historische Volkskunde, II, Berlin, I926. This process is based on the laws of "archaic seeing," about which cf. L. Muinz and V. L6wenfeld, Das plastische Gestalten Blinder, Brtunn, 1935, P. 76 f.

REMBRANDT'S "SYNAGOGUE" 123

apparently they did not see in his studies of heads a mere rendering of matter of fact reality. Moreover, from their technique can be judged what else in Rembrandt's work attracted them most. However much these versions change Rembrandt's chiaroscuro, there remains the attempt, inspired by Rembrandt, to place the portraits in sharply divided light and shade, in order to give these men from the distant past as much actuality as possible.

Two essential elements in Rembrandt's art were, therefore, taken over by his contemporary interpreters. And, though these engravings in their debased form may at first sight seem remote from Rembrandt, they appear to be much closer to him, when one bears in mind the principles underlying the manner in which the images were constructed. Certainly they are closer to him than those two recent, but happily now absolete, aesthetic approaches, from which Rembrandt's work was seen either as realism empty of all emotional content or as a magic of light and shade so exalted, so unique and intangible, that all attempts to search for a meaning became irrelevant.

Strange as the process of naming and adapting Rembrandt's heads for different purposes may appear to-day, a process in which neither a genuine portrait nor the faithful copy of a work of art is achieved, there is a real psychological experience behind it. In fact, these educated engravers working for popular consumption only repeat, with very different results, what Rembrandt on another plane, like every artist, constantly did himself. In his work there are countless occasions when a figure, at first only interesting him as a portrait or a physiognomical study, is then used in a historical picture and endowed with emotional and significant characteristics, so that it quite transcends the intrinsic appearance of the original model.' This is a spontaneous creative act which harks back to primaeval methods of forming image and symbol.

Though it is certain that the author of a work which is not entirely unequivocal can alone supply the clue to its particular meaning, it is equally true that the task of every scholar in the field of art is to determine the special associations and ideas which ruled the mind of the artist. In this task the discovery of a lost title may play an important part. But the approach of the scholar endeavouring to trace a title is diametrically opposed to that of the interpreters whom we have been discussing. While they were using a genuine masterpiece for a specific purpose, the scholar is trying to find a clue to the better understanding of the work of art. And, in the case of Rembrandt, this clue may be particularly valuable; for his realism is often so intense, that the effect is, misleadingly, that of a mere imitation of nature.

1 One example, overlooked until now, may be mentioned; the adaptation of the drawing HdG. 715 in Paris (repr. F. Lugt, Inv. gindral des dess. du Louvre, "Ec. Hollandaise," III, I933, Pl. 37, No. II64) for the face of the kneeling priest in the foreground of the Ecce

Homo etching of I635 (H. I43). From the features making up the individual character of the person represented in the drawing those are selected for the etching which could be used to convey the signs of wicked- ness.

124 L. MONZ

This may be illustrated by an example of false nomenclature, which originated in the eighteenth century. Rembrandt's "St. Jerome in his Cell" (H. 201) was called the "Spiral Staircase,"' owing to the fact that, for the casual observer, the cardinal's hat and the lion merge into darkness; and the etching thus appears to be a scene from everyday life. But the true title produces a wholly different attitude in the spectator; the Saint is then slowly perceived remote and secluded. The light from the window falls first and most strongly on a small crucifix, then on a skull and finally leads to S. Jerome, who has paused in his writing. He is the centre of the composition; and the objects illumined by the light from the window seem to suggest that the Saint is pondering on salvation and on vanity, as he works on his translation of the Scriptures. Meanwhile, the astronom- ical globes, symbolising knowledge of the material world, lie in shadow. Thus, when associated with the correct title, the etching is far removed from the genre picture of a heavy staircase with a seated figure, which it otherwise might appear to be.

It has been recognized since about the middle of the I8th century that S. Jerome is the subject of the picture,2 which can now be seen in its true light. But there are still a number of works by Rembrandt, the emotional content of which will elude the understanding so long as one approaches them with their present titles in mind; for we are all more subject than we think to the influence of names.

In the case of one etching, it seems to me, a change in name entirely alters the sense of the work for anyone who is unfamiliar with Rembrandt's manner of expression and unaware that in Rembrandt pure genre never occurs. This etching which dates from I648 is now called "The Synagogue" (B. I26, H. 234) (P1. 23d). Rembrandt's title, as with so many of his prints, has not been preserved; and, since Gersaint and Bartsch, it has always been described as follows:

Synagogue des Juifs. Nr. 122. Un Morceau, de 4. pouces 9. lignes de large, sur 2. pouces 7. lignes de haut, tres-fini, & du bon tems de ce Maitre. On voit sur le devant de la gauche, deux Vieillars Juifs, ou Docteurs de la Loi, qui sont les deux principales & plus grandes Figures; au-dessus, on lit sur une pierre, Rembrandt, f. 1648, qui y est grave d'une maniere presque imperceptible. Il y en a un dont la main gauche est appuyde sur un baton, & la droite est placde sur sa poitrine; il dcoute attentivement l'autre qui lui parle avec action. On appergoit dans le fond de la droite une portion de Temple en perspective, qui paroit etre une Synagogue, ofi plusieurs Juifs entrent & sortent, & d'autres sont assis. From this description one gets the impression of a pure genre scene,

1 This title is to be found in the hand- written list of the R6ver Collection of 1731, which was published by J. G. van Gelder and N. F. van Gelder-Schrijver, "De Memo- rie van Rembrandts prenten in het besit van Valerius R6ver," Oud Holland, vol. IV, p. 13.

2 Gersaint, Catalogue raisonn6 de toutes les

pi1ces, qui Jorment l'euvre de Rembrandt, Paris, 1751, p. 92 : Autre Saint Jer6me No. Io6 ... "il est coeff6 d'un espece de toque, ce qui feroit douter que ce fut un Saint Jer6me, si l'on n'appercevoir, quoiqu'avec bien de la peine, un lyon couch6 au bas de la table, attribut ordinaire de ce Saint."

23

... < + : ar.

<:-.:r -text w P opA pa / /

t•i" :.. ...... .

-E

/r t b

. V/

a-Savery, Joseph. Engraving b-Epicurus, published by Aubry (?). (p. 122) Engraving (p. 122)

c Rembrandt, "Synagogue." Detail (p. 125)

d Rembrandt,

"Synagogue" (H 234). Etching (p. I24

REMBRANDT'S "SYNAGOGUE" 125

but, reading it side by side with the etching, one is astonished to find that these observers, usually so exact, have mistakenly described some figures as sitting. The etching, however, shows only one seated figure. Again, Gersaint, Bartsch and Claussin describe the etching from left to right, in accordance with the absolute size of the figures, the space being seen as a recession from foreground to background.' But, if one looks at the etching more closely, bearing in mind Rembrandt's apparently indirect yet actually straightforward manner of emphasizing a figure, one's eye no longer travels in the direction suggested by Gersaint; and the composition now appears to be grouped round the only seated figure. This figure, however incidental it may appear at first sight, is not only in fact in the centre, but also disposed in a light, which, while apparently coordinating it with the rest of the setting, at the same time isolates and emphasizes it. This effect is produced by the strong contrast of light and shade all round the figure, which obviates the apparent neutrality of its tone value. Once this is grasped, the meaning, strangely pathetic, is made clear. For the man who so unobtrusively forms the focus of the composition is being avoided by the other visitors to the Synagogue. Pairs of Jews can be plainly seen in animated conversation; and one of the two, who are walking towards the background, looks in a somewhat unfriendly manner towards the man seated on the bench (P1. 23c).

The situation suggests that someone is tolerated in a circle but not respected, someone who, though seen in a profile perdu position which tends to conceal his shape rather than to reveal it, yet shows by his own gestures that his mood is far removed from quiet contemplation. One has only to look at the way in which the hand is held. The idea is unavoidable that, among a group of men who belong together, one is seated quite alone, ignored, in tormented conflict, full of misgiving. Is it Judas, contemplating his crime or stricken with remorse ?2 I do not know. And

1 In the catalogue by I. F. C. Backer of the collection in Rembrandt's house in Amsterdam (Amsterdam, I925) is a sug- gestion that the subject may be drawn from a play. This is probably true. But the trail which Backer in the footsteps ofJ. Prins, Joods. Maanschrift (an article which I have been unable to obtain) follows up seems to me to lead away from the correct interpretation.

The argument put forward, as evidence for the play, that one of the persons is wearing a mask, is wrong, and the excessively broad earflaps of the man's cap may well have been responsible for this faulty observation. The inference, that this cannot be a syna- gogue, leads even further astray. Rembrandt always represents a synagogue as an old, more or less mediaeval building; and the fact, that the Jews wear no ceremonial cloaks is insignificant if one thinks, say, of Rem- brandt's etching "Christ turning the Money Changers out of the Temple." The Syna-

gogue for him was as much a place of gathering as a place of prayer.

2 Mediaeval art shows Judas in a more unfriendly light than post-renaissance art. In the Middle Ages the most usual subjects were "Judas at the Last Supper," "Judas holding the forty Pieces of Silver," "The Betrayal" and "The Hanging of Judas" (cf. W. Neuss, Die katalanische Buchillustration, p. 122 and Mohlsdorf, Fahrer durch den symbolischen und typologischen Bilderkreis der christl. Kunst des Mittelalters). After the Renaissance a more humane attitude to Judas appears. There is a touching en- graving by Jean Duvet, showing Judas in despair; there is also a print by A. Bloemaert of this subject, with Judas hanging himself in the background. Rembrandt in one of his earliest pictures painted Judas giving back the tribute money. It is certain that Rem- brandt's studio was concerned with the theme ofJudas about I650 (the Synagogue is I648);

126 L. MONZ

perhaps a better scholar of contemporary Dutch literature will be able to point to a more apposite literary source for this dramatic representation. In the meantime, however, the title "Judas" may bring a new experience, to those who till now have been misled in their interpretation of this etching by the certainly erroneous title "The Synagogue," and may help towards a better understanding of the principles by which Rembrandt was guided.

that is borne out, not only by the drawing by Rennesse, corrected by Rembrandt, of "Judas holding the Tribute Money" (cf. Miinz, Jahrbuch der Kunsthist.-Slg. Wien, 1935) but also by drawings of"Judas returning the Tribute Money" and "Judas's Despair"

(cf. Valentiner, Rembrandt Zeichnungen, II and Bredt, Rembrandt Bibel, NT 78). Possibly too Rembrandt's "Synagogue" may have been inspired by an illustration such as the one which was printed above the epistle for the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost.