The copperplate may have been in the sale by Clement de Jonghe (1679) as ’20 een oude Persiaanse vrouw’ (an old Persian woman). It was at the sale of Pieter de Haan (1767, lot 72) and sold for Fl 3,00 to Geld. The plate has been seen since then and is probably lost.

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.

There is a signed copy in reverse by Francesco Novelli, inscribed Rembrandt and La Mere de Rembrandt (two states, his nr 20, 170 x 132 mm, WB).

This etching is considered a special one by Bartsch, De Claussin, Wilson and Blanc.
The etching is made by a pupil according to Coppier.

NH lists six states, the final one not by Rembrandt. The 3rd, 4th and 5th state are ‘new’. Most other authors list three states, Nowell-Usticke four. From his 3rd state (4th state NHD) not by Rembrandt.
In the 1st state (NH, WB, R912, H, NU) the shading left of the woman reaches to a point above the head of the woman.
In the 2nd state (NH, WB, R913, H, NU) the shading reaches only to the shoulder, in order to put more emphasis on the head itself. There is also some repair made to the right sleeve. A pattern of flowers is added to the scarf. According to Münz it is doubtful whether these alterations were made by Rembrandt himself or by a pupil.
In the 3rd state (NH only) the side of the neck has new lines, also redefining the edge of the collar.
In the 4th state (NH only) a few diagonal lines are added in front of the neck. The contour of the neck above the spot is redrawn. The right pupil and nostril seem strengthened.
In the 5th state (NH/3rd state NU) some strokes are added under the chin. There are thin broken lines on the bridge of the nose. The headdress and the sleeve are heavily reworked (NU).
In the 6th state (3rd state WB, R914/4th state NU) the outline of the face has been changed, not by Rembrandt. There is a left-to-right diagonal shading added to the eyebrow. There are small black dots in the eyes and the V-shaped opening in the shading left under is now filled with crosshatching. Not by Rembrandt (NH).

Of the 1st state there are impressions in the Rijksmuseum, the Albertina, the British Museum and the Fitzwilliam’s Museum in Cambridge (UK).

In the 1st state: Basel crosier (1631);
In the 4th state: Strasbourg bend with cm NA (c. 1629-31); Basilisk (c. 1632).
In the 5th state: Basilisk (c. 1632); Arms of Württemberg (1634-35); Foolscap with five-pointed collar (1643); Strasbourg lily with LB; Countermark LAK; Arms of Bristol; Pro Patria (> 1699).
In the 6th state: Seven Provinces (>1709).

H 51, BB 31-H, G 317, M 55, Mz 86, RA 912-914, Cl 338, W 343, Bl 198, Du 336, CD 52
Rembrandt’s Women 2001, p. 69; Van Straten 2005, p. 185;

NH 5th state of VI/WB: 2nd state of III
A somewhat light, probably later impression of the last state made by Rembrandt. With delicate tones. The new lines under the chin and the (new) outline of the nose are well visible, but the face is not (yet) redrawn. See for instance the lines under the eye. Confirming a 5th state.
Sheet 176/179 x 156/154 mm, broad margins of 13 mm at both sides and 16 mm at top and bottom (+48%).
Watermark: Upper part of the Coat-of-Arms of Amsterdam (not listed by NHD or in Hinterding 2006), vertical chain lines at approx. 26 mm.

Rembrandt in Black & White, Schloß Britz (Berlin), Bozar Expo (Brussels), Chateau des Penthes (Geneva), November 2015-September 2016;
Rembrandt in Zwart-Wit, Stedelijk Museum Vianen, October 2017 – January 2018;
Rembrandt, de fotograaf, Westfries Museum (Hoorn), June 2024 – January 2025;