CC0 · no rights reserved
Rembrandt and His Wife Saskia
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
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.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineRembrandt and His Wife Saskia, 1636. Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669). Etching; sheet: 10.5 x 9.2 cm (4 1/8 x 3 5/8 in.); matted: 49.1 x 36.2 cm (19 5/16 x 14 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland, 1959.81
