🐚 Rembrandt was an avid collector of shells, a luxury item in 17th century Europe. This work, known in only a few impressions, is the sole still life in Rembrandt’s oeuvre, and it was likely drawn after a shell in his possession. It is also the only known print that Rembrandt made of an object in his collection. The artist carefully delineated the patterns of the shell, using etching and drypoint with alternately open and dense hatching, to convey a sense of its reddish-brown and white surface and its luster. This iconic presentation reveals Rembrandt’s fascination with the beauty of the shell’s form and design.