# Christ Crucified Between the Two Thieves: 'The Three Crosses'

**Rembrandt van Rijn** (Dutch, 1606–1669)  
1653-c.1660  
drypoint  
Sheet: 37.5 x 44 cm (14 3/4 x 17 5/16 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1959.241. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1959.241).

## About this work

Rembrandt’s Christ Crucified Between the Two Thieves is executed entirely in drypoint. Because of the delicacy of the technique, the copper plate was worn after the artist printed about 40 impressions of the first three states. In order to continue using the plate, Rembrandt reworked it, changing the image somewhat. In this fourth state, slashing strokes obscure the spectators visible in the earlier version, creating a tenebrous setting that focuses attention on Christ bathed in celestial light. Although drypoint is an inherently linear medium, Rembrandt used it to obtain tonal qualities associated with painting. The blackness becomes an active force that threatens to extinguish the light of Christ—a literal illustration of the Evangelist Luke’s description of the event that brought "a darkness over all the earth."

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Rembrandt van Rijn made this in 1653-c.1660, aged about 47. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Drypoint.** Lines scratched straight into the plate with a needle throw up a ridge of metal, the burr, which holds ink and prints a soft, furred line. The burr wears down, so early impressions are the richest.

### [Rembrandt van Rijn](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/rembrandt-van-rijn)

Dutch, 1606–1669; born in Leiden; died in Amsterdam

Rembrandt trained in Leiden and Amsterdam, settled in Amsterdam in the early 1630s and became the city’s most sought-after portraitist. His later work grows rougher and more searching, with thick paint, deep shadow and faces that seem lost in thought, as in Aristotle with a Bust of Homer, painted for a Sicilian collector. He was also the leading etcher of his age, reworking plates through many states and making the medium as expressive as painting.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Print
- Culture: Rembrandt, 17th century
- The artist was about 47
- Real size: about 15 × 17 in (38 × 44 cm). The 12 × 16 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 17th century
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/635.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/635/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/christ-crucified-between-the-two-thieves-the-three-crosses-cma-135706).