Kneeling Female Nude with Outstretched Arms

Aert de Gelder made this nude study during his pupillage with Rembrandt. Like his master, his rendering of the posing woman with drooping breasts and a sagging stomach is unvarnished. It was only in Rembrandt’s workshop that drawing after a nude female model became more prevalent among Dutch artists. Not only was it an excellent exercise, but studies of nudes also often served as models for figures in a painting.