"..on 'Christ Presented to the People' Rembrandt confronts us head on with the dramatic events described in the Bible. The Roman governor Pontius Pilate appears on the platform with his retinue. Beside him stand two prisoners, one of them Christ. The people are allowed to decide. On the extreme left of the platform someone stands ready with a jug of water. Pilate would wash his hands to demonstrate his innocence after the people had chosen. That Rembrandt used such a large copper plate to create this spectacular and strictly organized composition is admirable enough. He scored the angular and expressive lines of the many figures into the tough metal with a hard, sharp needle. But then he had the courage to remove large parts that had already been completed and start all over again."