Questions and answers · Eugène Rensburg (1872–1956)
Frequently asked questions
What visitors ask us most — about the work, its provenance, its price, and what you can do with a sheet of your own. Where an answer rests on unproven tradition, we say so.
01Who was Eugène Rensburg?
Eugène (Eugenius) Rensburg (The Hague 1872 – The Hague 1956) was a Dutch etcher, watercolourist, painter and draughtsman. He is known for topographically faithful city and harbour views, particularly of the Rotterdam that preceded the bombardment of 1940. His full biography is on this site.
02How many works did Rensburg make?
It is not known, and the figure in circulation is wrong. The source behind “more than 5,000” speaks of over five thousand topographical pen drawings; later repetition turned these into etchings or works. Our catalogue holds 578 source records, of which 422 are classified as original work — those are registered findspots, not an oeuvre total. No reliable total of unique plates, drawings and impressions exists.
Dossier Eugène Rensburg, chapters 8 and 15
03How do I recognise a genuine Rensburg etching?
Rensburg etchings usually carry a pencil signature below the plate with the full name, plus title, date and sometimes an edition number. Within the plate, the Oedipus etchings bear the inscription DEL AD VIV: drawn from life. Compare your sheet with the documented examples in the oeuvre register.
04What is a Rensburg etching worth?
That depends on subject, edition, condition and provenance. Realised auction prices run from a few tens of euros for small etchings to thousands for rare works; the highest figure we found documented is USD 6,462 for the painting A forest brook (Sotheby’s Amsterdam, 2011). Every documented figure with its source is on Market & prices. We do not issue valuations, only documentation.
05I own a Rensburg — what can I do with it?
Three things, and they are not mutually exclusive. You can have it added to the register, making the catalogue more complete; you can have it assessed for attribution, technique and condition; and you can consign it for sale through this site. All three begin at Submit a work — photographs of the front, the signature and the reverse are enough to start.
06Can I order a work framed, glazed and mounted?
Yes. On the page of every work offered for direct sale you compose frame, mount and glass; the preview shows the true proportions at actual size, so you see what you will receive. Framing is priced separately from the work and shown separately.
07Why is no VAT amount shown on my invoice?
Second-hand works of art in the Netherlands fall under the margin scheme: VAT is paid on the profit margin, not on the sale price. In that case the law forbids stating VAT separately on the invoice. The price quoted is therefore the price you pay. Where a work falls outside the margin scheme, this is stated explicitly with the work.
08Where can I buy work by Rensburg?
Through the shop on this site, and additionally at auction houses and specialised dealers. Everything offered here is linked to its register record, so you can set provenance and documentation beside the offer.