From 1929 and 1930 onward, once had already made illustrations for The Unknown Masterpiece by Honoré Balzac and for Ovid’s Metamorphosis, Pablo Picasso multiplied and accelerated his dedication to etching. Perhaps he saw an adequate medium for camouflaging his experiences in this language, since it is difficult to interpret in layman’s terms.

In late 1934 it seems that an accident that occurred during the execution of an etching forced him to incise the face of Rembrandt on one of the plates. From that moment onward the Dutch painter became his new alter ego.

Stemming from his readings and studies of the paintings and etchings of Rembrandt, Picasso adopted one of his procedures: instead of treating figures through the use of chiaroscuro he was able to draw them out from the darkness. The appearance of lit areas and light sources make these works recognizable.