Self-Portrait with Saskia
About this artwork
Rembrandt’s wife, Saskia van Uylenburgh, was one of his favourite models. This etching, produced only two years after their marriage, depicts the thirty-year-old Rembrandt and his new bride. It is the only etching in which the artist portrays himself with Saskia. Rembrandt looks up confidently while drawing, or possibly in the process of making an etching, while Saskia is seated by his side. As a result of the printing process the image is reversed; Rembrandt has shown his hands at rest because he was right-handed and might not have wanted to give the impression he was drawing with his left. Rembrandt and Saskia are not wearing contemporary dress, indicating that this is not simply a drawing from life. The image is probably intended as an illustration of the idea that ‘love brings forth art’.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) (1606 - 1669) Dutch
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title:Self-Portrait with Saskia
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date created:Dated 1636
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materials:Etching on paper
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measurements:Image: 10.40 x 9.50 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 1964
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accession number:P 2573
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gallery:
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
Rembrandt is perhaps the most renowned, influential and inventive of all Dutch artists. In his oil paintings, he represented a wide range of subjects, including single portraits, group portraits, self-portraits and biblical and mythological scenes. He explored the dramatic potential of light and...