The copperplate may have been in the sale by Clement de Jonghe (as Venus and the Satyr, 1679, not listed in the New Hollstein), but it was not in any of the other early auctions or collections and is probably not anymore in existence.

As in many other cases the title of this print has varied over the years. It was identified as het slaapende Venusje (the sleeping Venus) or Danae en Jupiter (Wilson 1836). In 1912 Hind gave it the present name, suggesting that the sleeping lady is Antiope, approached from behind by her lover Jupiter. The difference being that according to mythology Danae was imprisoned and awake when Jupiter visited her, while Antiope was sleeping at that crucial moment.

The positioning of Antiope resembles an etching by Werner van Valckert from 1612 which, according to Münz, represents Venus surprised by Satyrs. He also points at a print by Annibale Carracci (B17). A drawing in the Boijmans van Beuningen (Benesch 191) could be a preliminary work, but it is nowadays attributed to Rembrandt’s pupil Jacob Backer and dated later.

The plate is not by Rembrandt according to Coppier and Singer.

Most authors, including NH, list two states, Hind, Münz and Rovinsky three, all contemporary.
In the 1st state (NH, WB, R563, NU) the bedcover does not reach the knees. The legs are covered by shading just above the sheet.
In the 2nd state (NHD, WB, R565, NU) the sheet now covers the knees, the shading is burnished. The plate is slightly trimmed (now 82 x 110 mm), the corners are rounded. The signature is added.
According to Nowell-Usticke and White-Boon the 1st state of Hind and Biörklund (2nd state Rovinsky and Münz), in the Bibliothèque Nationale (R564) in which the cover is far below the knees, is a false print by Peters.
Rovinsky reversed the two states, erroneously contributing the missing signature in the 2nd state to a failure in the printing.

Of the 1st state only five impressions are known, in the Rijksmuseum (2), in the British Museum, in Brussels and in the Albertina.

In the 2nd state: Basilisk (c. 1632); Foolscap with five-pointed collar (1648-1652); Foolscap.

H 44, BB 31-6 G 196, M 259, Mz 133, RA 563-565, Cl 201, W 201, Bl 168, Du 201, CD 41
Rembrandt’s Women 2001, p. 80; Hinterding 2008, p. 371-373;

NH/WB: 2nd and final state
A very good, contemporary impression on laid paper.
Sheet 84/85 x 114/113 mm , thread margins of approx. 1 to 2 mm all around (+7%).
Watermark: Part of a Foolscap with five-pointed collar (1648-1652) in the top of the centre, vertical chain lines at approx. 23 mm.

In the collection of Dr. Edward Peart (1758-1824, London and Butterswick,  Lugt 891-892), his collector’s mark in black ink in the lower margin recto;
It was probably in his sale with Christie’s London in April 1822.

Rembrandt, fotograaf avant-la-lettre, Museum De Reede (Antwerp), January – May 2023;