The copperplate was not part of any of the early sales or collections and is almost certainly not in existence.

This is probably the first etching made by Rembrandt, at the time that he not yet owned a printing press. It explains the signature I.G.Berendrech ex. in the right lower corner. Berendrech was a printer and publisher in Haarlem.

Luke 22, verse 21
The etching portrays the story of the circumcision of the young Jesus.
As he will do in a later etching of the same subject (B 48 – NH 55) Rembrandt follows the tradition of placing the ceremony in the temple, although this is in conflict with the Jewish law. The circumcision is supposed to be on the 8th day of the young born baby and women are not allowed in the temple the first thirty days after giving birth. Yet, Mary is definitely present here.

It is clear that, at this early stage in his career, he had not yet mastered the use of light and dark. But the subtle lines, the attention to detail (see for instance the hands of the baby), the lady not looking at the baby, but at the man beside her and the composition in general, are clearly a forebode of what was to come.

Münz thinks that an etching by Maerten de Vos (1532-1603) from 1581 may have been the model for the central group. This is in itself a variation of a woodcut by Albrecht Dürer.
Bauch pointed at an engraving by Hans Speckaert (1530-1577) and Mitsch at a painting by David Vinckboons (1576-1629). It is, however, not clear why Rembrandt would have known these examples. It is more likely that his inspiration came from an engraving made in 1594 by Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617), also made after the Dürer print. It shows remarkable similarities and it is certain that Rembrandt knew the works of Goltzius.

Hinterding points at the compositional likeness with Rembrandt’s earliest signed painting, The stoning of St.Stephen, now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon (Corpus A1). The grouping of the ‘doctors’ around the ‘subject’ also resembles the composition of the painting Anatomische les van Dr. Deyman, made some thirty years later.

Although Gersaint, Yver and Daulby included this print in their catalogues as authentic, for many years this print was not accepted as such, starting with Bartsch. There were stylistic reasons for this, but also the involvement of a Haarlem-based printer and a deviating signature. An article by Six in 1908 convinced later scholars to accept Rembrandt as the artist, making this probably his earliest etching. Hind, Hofsteede de Groot and Björklund consider it to be by the same hand as B 59 (NHD 2), The Rest on the Flight into Egypt, but Hind points at the likeliness with a drawing in the British Museum, Stoning of St.Stephen, attributed to Johannes van Vliet. Münz was the first to include the plate in his catalogue. The attribution to Rembrandt is now generally accepted, supported by the results of watermark research. According to the signature in the lower right corner, the impressions were not (yet) made by Rembrandt himself but by Jan Pieterzn Beerendregt, a publisher in Haarlem. He also published prints by then well-known artist as Esaias and Jan van de Velde and Willem Buytenwech. And the print Saint John the Evangelist on Patmos, by Jan Lievens. Rembrandt was probably well aware of the technical requirements to make sure that many copies could be drawn from the plate, since the plate is the deepest etched one in his oeuvre.

NH lists three states, the 2nd state is ‘new’. All other authors list two states.
In the 1st state there is no signature.
In the 2nd state (NH) a framing line is introduced, the plate is slightly trimmed (to 214 x 160 mm) and several other small corrections are made.
In the 3rd state (NH/2nd state WB, NU) the signature and inscription are added, probably by the printer Beerendregt.

Of the 1st state only one impression is known, in the Rijksmuseum.
Of the 2nd state three impressions are known, in the British Museum, the Boymans van Beuningen and in the Albertina.
There is a counterproof of the 3rd state, also in the Albertina.

In the 3rd state: Basilisk (c. 1640-47); Double-headed eagle; Foolscap with five-pointed collar; Strasbourg lily; Countermark PR. Laurentius noticed that some of the watermarks found were used in Rembrandt’s workshop around 1640, concluding that the plate was in Rembrandts possession at that time, supporting the attribution to him.

H 388, BB 26-2, G 48, M -, Mz 187, RA -, Cl -, W -, Bl -, Du -, Do -, S 14. Six in Oud Holland 1908; Burchard p. 87; Rembrandt en de Bijbel p. 51-52; Th. Laurentius, Rembrandt’s etchings in a new light 1993, p. 166 and 172-180; R. van Straten, Rembrandts Leidse tijd 2005, p. 291-299; Hinterding 2006, p. 67; Hinterding 2008, p. 619-622; Zeist 2012, p. 16-17; Dat kan beter 2013, p. 12-13; Rutgers/Stadring 2018, p. 20;

NH: 3rd and final state/WB: 2nd and final state.
A very good, early impression of the final state, with the inscriptions.
Sheet 221 x 172/166 mm, margins of 4 to 5 mm all around (+9%).
No watermark, vertical chain lines.

The Rotunda at Exchange Square, Hong Kong, January 2008;
Rembrandt in zwart-wit, Westfries Museum (Hoorn), Het Markiezenhof (Bergen op Zoom), Stedelijk Museum Zutphen, Het Hannemahuis (Harlingen), Museum Gouda, Jan ten Horne Museum (Weert), Stadsmuseum Harderwijk, March 2013-August 2015; Stedelijk Museum Vianen, October 2017 – January 2018;
Rembrandt in Black & White, Schloß Britz (Berlin), Bozar Expo (Brussels), Chateau des Penthes (Geneva), November 2015 – October 2016;
Rembrandt, fotograaf avant-la-lettre, Museum De Reede (Antwerp), January – May 2023;
Rembrandt, 17th century photographer, Daegu Art Museum (Korea), November 2023 – March 2024;
Rembrandt, de fotograaf, Westfries Museum (Hoorn), June 2024 – January 2025;