The plate was not part of any early collection or sale and is probably not in existence.

This rare print is part of the series of beggars and street folk that Rembrandt etched between 1628 and 1631. It is one of the later prints in the series because the figure is much more ‘complex’ than the earlier ones. Based on the type of hat, the person was identified as a Polish man, but it is probably a soldier.

Rembrandt may well be influenced by the prints of soldiers by Callot, of which he owned a large number. The style, however, is much more informal and natural.

There is a very deceptive copy by De Claussin with the inscription Etched by De Claussin from the original etching which belongs to George Hibbert Esq. 1807 (137 x 50 mm). This plate was cut down to 59 x 24 mm and used in the 200 Etchings. Rovinski has mistaken this copy for an original (R412). The difference is that the original stick seems to have a slight outward bulge, whereas in the copy the stick is straight.

The plate was made by a pupil according to Coppier.
The plate is not by Rembrandt according to Singer.

All authors list one state only.

Only six impressions of this print are known, in the Rijksmuseum, the British Museum, the Albertina, the Staatliche Grafische Sammlung (Munich), the Bibliothèque Nationale and the Petit Palais (Dutuit Collection) in Paris.

H 40 BB 31-B, G 149, M 79, Mz 118, RA 412, Cl 141, W 142, Bl 108, Du 140, CD 47