https://emuseum.cornell.edu/internal/media/dispatcher/68950/fullThe Rat Catcher1632[com.gallerysystems.emuseum.core.entities.RecordXPerson@1449e]com.gallerysystems.emuseum.core.entities.RecordXPerson@1449eEtching on laid paperRembrandt accompanied his studies of stand-alone peasants with more developed genre scenes set in locations that evoke a possible narrative. The Rat Catcher shows an exterminator bent over a windowsill, hawking his trade to a homeowner as his small apprentice watches. The homeowner turns away in either bemusement or disgust at the staff of dead rats being waved at him—presumably as proof of the rat catcher’s efficacy as well as a visual reminder of Amsterdam’s problematic vermin population. While the “roughness” of the etching’s overall quality may be an indicator that the piece was produced to be sold at a lower price point, the broad strokes and thick patches of open crosshatching add an atmosphere of grittiness, underscoring the subject’s undesirable social position. This impression’s watermark is datable after 1653, about twenty years after the plate’s initial printing, showing its long-term appeal. com.gallerysystems.emuseum.core.entities.Classification@5ehttps://emuseum.cornell.edu/objects/6539/rdf