Two Studies of a Woman Reading

Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)

1635–40 · Pen and brown iron-gall ink · Drawings and Prints

Rembrandt's figure studies capture both the physical and psychological character of his models. Although here his technique appears abbreviated and sketchy, he closely observed and brilliantly summarized such details as the tendrils of the woman's hair, the curve of her fingers, and the roundness of her cheek. Rembrandt's wife, Saskia, may have served as the model for this drawing. In the lower study, she appears in full daylight, while in the upper study, she sits almost completely in the dark, leaning forward to catch a few glimmers of light for her reading; the darkness surrounding her is depicted with strongly diverging hatching.

Artist

Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)

Date

1635–40

Medium

Pen and brown iron-gall ink

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929