Student at a table by candlelight

By conceiving the image as a nocturnal scene, Rembrandt succeeded in evoking a deeply serene and spiritual atmosphere. Rembrandt’s student props up his head in a contemplative pose with his eyes fixed on the observer, as though trying to pass on his knowledge to him. Similarly conceived etching depicting St. Jerome, in contrast, is deeply immersed in thought. The interpenetration of light and darkness has an important symbolic and expressive function in both prints.