Category: Portraits of women

A most remarkable portrait, not least because the plate is only partially etched. Hinterding has suggested that Rembrandt may have used a coating in the ‘untouched’ areas, after the drawing was completed. The identity of the woman is not known, it is certainly not Rembrandts’ mother. Six has suggested that it is the same woman as in *Bust of an old woman in a fur-trimmed coat* (B355). The large number of copies proofs that the plate must have been popular in early years.

It is generally assumed that Saskia is depicted here, who died in 1642 at the age of 30 following a long period of illness.

This etching is quite different from all other etchings. The face of the woman seems much too white for a woman with such clear African looks. This may be due to a technical error. But it has also been suggested that the model was in fact an albino. The etching was known as *Het Moorinnetje* (The Mooress) in the catalogue of the De Burgy sale (1755, nrs 110-111).

Rembrandt’s mother, Neeltgen van Zuytbrouck, was born c. 1568 in Noordwijk. She married to Harmen Gerritzn van Rijn on 8 October 1589. She got ten children, of which Rembrandt was the youngest. She died in 1640 in Leiden. Although there is no certainty about her identity, it seems that Rembrandt has pictured this model in at least six etchings and several paintings. The reference to Rembrandt’s mother dates to the inventory-list of Clemens de Jonghe of 1679, ten years after Rembrandt’s death. Since the same model appears in several works by Jan Lievens, Rembrandt’s companion during his early years in Leiden, it has been suggested that she could also be Lievens’ grandmother, who was around sixty at that time.

In the catalogue of the De Burgy sale (1755) this etching was referred to as *Het boerinnetje, met een Korfje aan den Arm en een Tasje op Zyde* (The peasant girl with a basket on her arm and a bag at her side), which is exactly what we think to see. But closer examination of the clothes reveals that these are in fact German dating back to the middle ages. They were long out-of-date in Rembrandt’s time, but still used in Germany.

Rembrandt’s mother, Neeltgen Willemsdochter van Zuytbrouck, (ca. 1568 – 1640) was ca. 65 years old at the time Rembrandt made this portrait, a tender study of old age. Although there is no certainty about her identity, it seems that Rembrandt has pictured this model in at least six etchings and several paintings. The reference to Rembrandt’s mother dates to the inventory-list of Clemens de Jonghe of 1679, ten years after Rembrandt’s death. Since the same model appears in several works by Jan Lievens, Rembrandt’s companion during his training in Leiden, it has been suggested that she could also be Lievens’ grandmother, who was around sixty at that time. From the only impression of the 1st state, which was drawn from a larger plate, it derives that Rembrandt originally intended to add at least part of the body.

This striking little portrait of a woman sleeping over her book seems to be another model than the woman Rembrandt used in many other etchings, generally assumed to be his mother.
Until late in the 18th century the person seen here was identified as a man, as the title in the De Burgy catalogue (1755) stated Het Slaapend Mannetje op een Boek, met de Bril (The sleeping man with book and spectacles). Adam von Bartsch finally, in 1797, placed this print in the correct category as a sleeping woman.

This etching may well be a pendant to *Man with beard and Oriental headdress* (B 263) which is generally assumed to represent Rembrandt’s father and dates from the same year. Rembrandt’s mother, Neeltgen van Zuytbrouck, was born c. 1568 in Noordwijk. She married to Harmen Gerritzn van Rijn on 8 October 1589. She got ten children, of which Rembrandt was the youngest. She died in 1640 in Leiden. Although there is no certainty about her identity, it seems that Rembrandt has pictured this model in at least six etchings and several paintings. The reference to Rembrandt’s mother dates to the inventory-list of Clemens de Jonghe of 1679, ten years after Rembrandt’s death. Since the same model appears in several works by Jan Lievens, Rembrandt’s companion during his training in Leiden, it has been suggested that she could also be Lievens’ grandmother, who was around sixty at that time.

It took some time for experts to recognise the woman as Saskia. In the catalogue of the De Burgy sale in 1755 (nr 100) this print was still referred to as *Een gepaleerd Juffertje, met Peerlen in ‘t Hair* (A well-dressed young lady, with pearls in her hair). First Daulby (in 1796) and then Michel a hundred years later saw the likeness to other paintings and etchings in which Rembrandt pictured his wife.

Rembrandt’s mother, Neeltgen van Zuytbrouck, was born ca. 1568 in Noordwijk. She married to Harmen Gerritzn van Rijn on 8 October 1589. She got ten children, of which Rembrandt was the youngest. She died in 1640 in Leiden. Although there is no certainty about her identity, it seems that Rembrandt has pictured this model in at least six etchings and several paintings. The reference to Rembrandt’s mother dates to the inventory-list of Clemens de Jonghe of 1679, ten years after Rembrandt’s death. Since the same model appears in several works by Jan Lievens, Rembrandt’s companion during his training in Leiden, it has been suggested that she could also be Lievens’ grandmother, who was around sixty at that time.

The idea that this etching pictures a Jewish bride, already suggested by Valerius Röver in 1731 (as *het Jooden bruitje*) is based on the document in the right hand of the woman. It is supposed to be a *ketubah* in which the groom confirms his obligation to take care of his wife. Waiting for the groom, the bride is expected to have her hair hanging loosely. But others have suggested that the sitter is Saskia, either in a role as Sibyl or as Minerva (Valentiner) or as Queen Esther (Madlyn Kahr), waiting for a meeting with King Ahasveros.