Rembrandt and His Wife Saskia is a 1636 by Rembrandt, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This etching shows Rembrandt and his wife Saskia sitting side by side. Both face the viewer in fancy 1600s clothes. Rembrandt used thick dark lines to make his own face and hands stand out. Saskia’s lines are lighter, so she looks softer and a bit faded behind him. This is the only time Rembrandt made a print where he included his wife. He probably sketched it while they sat together, which makes it feel more personal than his usual self-portraits. If you like this couple portrait, look up Rembrandt van Rijn.
This self-portrait is the only one in which Rembrandt showed himself with his young wife, Saskia. Both figures appear in formal attire and directly meet the viewer’s gaze. To represent himself, Rembrandt deeply etched the copper plate to create dark and decisive lines, as seen below his collar and on his left wrist. He etched Saskia’s image more lightly, with faint lines that situate her in the composition’s background. Rembrandt may have drawn the image at least in part while sitting in front of a mirror.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), known mononymously as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and draughtsman.
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