The copperplate was in the sale by Pieter de Haan (1767, lot 39) and was sold via Fouquet to Claude-Henri Watelet (1718-1786). It then became part of the set of plates subsequently owned and used for printing Recueils by Pierre-François Basan (1723-1797), Henri-Louis Basan (his nr 1412), Auguste Jean (ca 1809), Veuve Jean, Auguste and Michel Bernard (1846), Alvin-Beaumont (1906) and Robert Lee Humber (1937). It was sold at the Artemis sale in London (1993) to Dr H.Berger (Beverly Hills). The plate was used to produce approx. 2500 prints as the Millennium Impressions in 1998. In 2003 it was sold, together with seven other plates, to Park West Galleries in Southfield, Michigan. They actively marketed impressions of this plate and probably printed many more. For more details see the separate chapter on the Millennium Impressions.

The scenery depicted here probably is a local rural inn. In the background two men are talking to each other. Another man is ‘shoving the ball’. For a long time it was assumed that the man was playing kolf. It is a game played in the streets or indoors, was very popular at the time. It is often considered to be the forerunner of golf. But it is now clear that the man is actually playing the game of beugelen. It is similar to kolf, but played in much smaller sites, like an inn. In Valerius Röver’s inventory of 1731 it was correctly called het klosbaantje (the ringball alley).

Schwartz suggested that Rembrandt wanted to create an atmosphere of a sunny day by the spots of light and shadow in the foreground and by keeping the figures sketchy and bright. Other authors point out that some elements of the plate seem to be incomplete or unfinished. White suggested that the plate shows a combination of various studies. It has also been suggested that the man on the bench is in fact Jan Six, based on likeness with a drawing in the Louvre (Benesch 1172).

There are two copies in the same direction, both roughly the same size as the original and anonymous. Copy A is inscribed Rembrandt f. 1634 (93 x 143 mm). Copy B is inscribed Rembrandt f. 1654 (93 x 147 mm, WB).

NH, like most authors, lists two states, only the first by Rembrandt. Nowell-Usticke lists three states, from the 2nd state there are later impressions by P.F.Basan, H.L.Basan, Jean, Bernard and Beaumont.
In the 1^st state (NH, WB, R366, NU) there are blank areas where the acid has not bitten along the top margin of the sheet. In early impressions thin vertical lines are visible around the hat of the sitting man in the middle (with his back towards us). The corners are square.
In the 2^nd state (NH, WB, R367, NU) the white areas are filled, almost certainly not by Rembrandt. Early impressions (by P.F.Basan) are sharp and often better than impressions of the 1^st state. Left of and above the player rust spots appear. Thin vertical lines run right of the hat and face of the player. Later impressions are by H.L.Basan and Jean. The corners are now rounded, the impressions pretty light, just as the rust spots.
In the 3^rd state (NU only) the plate is reworked by Bernard. The lines above the sitting man are thicker. The left eye of the sitting man is shaded.
In later impressions by Beaumont the shading right of the sitting man is worn.

There is an impression of the 1st state printed in red ink at the Stauffer Collection in New York.
The etching appears (unchanged) in the Recueil de Basan, impressions strong (NU).

In the 1st state: Arms of Amsterdam (3 ed.); Foolscap with seven-pointed collar; Hare.

H 272, BB 54-A, G 121, M 294, Mz 276, RA 366-367, Cl 127, W 129, Bl 97, Du 126, CD 229
Hinterding 2008, p. 260ff;

NH/WB: 2nd and final state.
A good, later impression, probably by P.F.Basan. The print fits the description of Nowell-Usticke as early, P.F.Basan: Clear rust spots left of and above the player and very thin vertical lines to the right of the head of the player. Square corners. Impressions are in fact better than most of the 1st state, according to Nowell-Usticke.
Sheet 96 x 144/143 mm, thread margins of 1 mm on three sides, 2 mm at the bottom (+2%).
No watermark, vertical chain lines at approx. 25 mm.

In the collection of the Belgian Dukes of Arenbergh (Lugt 567) their collector’s mark in blue ink verso;
It was probably in the sale of the collection with Christie’s London in July 1902, when approx. 40.000 prints were sold. A large number of these print were bought by Gutekunst in Stuttgart for their sale in May 1903.

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), Chateau des Penthes (Geneva), November 2015-September 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;