Public domain
Woman with the Arrow
From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Modelling with raised arms is tiring. To provide this woman with some relief, she most likely held onto a cord. Rembrandt set her in a narrative context by transforming the cord into an arrow and introducing the face of a man in the darkness at the left. Perhaps she represents Venus who takes away Cupid’s arrow; the scene has also been interpreted as Cleopatra with her lover.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own descriptionCredit lineVrouw met de pijl. 1661. Rembrandt van Rijn. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.
