Saskia(?) Lying in Bed
1638
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Saskia(?) Lying in Bed is a 1638 ink by Rembrandt, a Baroque work, depicting sleep, held at National Gallery of Art.
You see a woman in bed, her face lit softly by a single candle. The rest of the room fades into dark, smudged lines. She looks tired, maybe sick—her eyes are closed, hands resting on the covers. This sketch was probably made at home. Rembrandt often drew his wife, Saskia, when she was ill. The loose, quick strokes suggest he worked fast, maybe to capture a quiet moment. The brown wash—thin, watery ink—gives the scene a warm, dim glow, like candlelight itself. If you like how light and shadow play here, look up *cross-hatching*—a technique Rembrandt used to build depth with tiny, crisscrossing lines.
