It is a little-known fact that in the nineteenth century Rembrandt was an icon for numerous French avant-garde artists, Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. Great names such as Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Odilon Redon and Theodore Rousseau took Rembrandt and his work as their example. To them he was an anti-academic cult figure, an artist who shrugged off academic rules and captured the world around him with a fearless immediacy. Many French artists decided to start etching – as Rembrandt had – and there was a revival of the art form.

Rembrandt in Paris: Manet, Méryon, Degas and the Rediscovery of Etching (1830-90) opens on 21 September in The Rembrandt House Museum. This is the first exhibition ever devoted to the etching revival in France. The finest works of art will be brought together for the show: elegant French ladies, Parisian cityscapes, impressive landscapes and artistic posters.