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Lot Essay
This is a particularly fine and beautiful example of this famous double-portrait of Rembrandt and his wife Saskia. An impression of the first state, before Rembrandt removed the little accidental curved line on her forehead, it printed with exceptional sharpness and clarity, especially in the densely worked area below his hat at right, which wore so quickly. The contrasts are very pronounced, the small impurities of the plate show clearly, and the plate edges are inky and tonal, all adding to the presence of the figures and the atmosphere of the image.
When Rembrandt etched this plate in 1636, they were married for two years. They had been engaged and living together a year before their marriage, a practice which does not seem to have been unusual. It was the betrothal rather than the wedding, in fact, that marked the beginning of the union. Saskia van Uylenburgh was born in 1612 into a large and influential family in Leeuwarden, the capital of the northern province of Friesland, where her father served as burgomaster. Saskia and Rembrandt undoubtedly met through her cousin, the art dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh (circa 1587 – 1661), with whom Rembrandt, since his move to Amsterdam in 1631, was living and working at his house and studio on the Sint Anthoniesbreestraat (today Jodenbreestraat).
Although Rembrandt frequently depicted Saskia, as herself or in disguise, as sitter or model, in paintings, drawings and prints, in finished works and quick sketches or study sheets, this is the only portrait of the couple. Traditionally, husbands and wives had been portrayed separately on pendant paintings, although in 1633 the artist had painted his first large double-portrait, Lady and Gentleman in Black, one of the paintings famously stolen from the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum in Boston in 1990. As a double-portrait of the artist with his wife, this etching is almost without precedent in print, with the notable exception of the double-portrait of Israhel van Meckenem with his Wife Ida of around 1490, which Rembrandt may well have known.
Self-Portrait with Saskia shows the artist prominently in the front, while Saskia sits at the back of the table. Both are dressed in 16th century costume, presumably as a way of placing the image – and himself as an artist – in the Renaissance tradition. Rembrandt seems to be at work, seemingly drawing the very scene he is observing in the mirror, although this is certainly a ploy, as the two portraits were very likely created in at least two separate sittings. Despite the slightly disjointed aspect of the two figures, there is a great tenderness and pride in their proximity on the sheet, and the way he presents her as his wife, with such poise and quiet confidence. He must have loved her very much, as his many depictions of her suggest, most poignantly the sketches of her being ill, and it is sad to think that only six years later Saskia would no longer be alive.
When Rembrandt etched this plate in 1636, they were married for two years. They had been engaged and living together a year before their marriage, a practice which does not seem to have been unusual. It was the betrothal rather than the wedding, in fact, that marked the beginning of the union. Saskia van Uylenburgh was born in 1612 into a large and influential family in Leeuwarden, the capital of the northern province of Friesland, where her father served as burgomaster. Saskia and Rembrandt undoubtedly met through her cousin, the art dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh (circa 1587 – 1661), with whom Rembrandt, since his move to Amsterdam in 1631, was living and working at his house and studio on the Sint Anthoniesbreestraat (today Jodenbreestraat).
Although Rembrandt frequently depicted Saskia, as herself or in disguise, as sitter or model, in paintings, drawings and prints, in finished works and quick sketches or study sheets, this is the only portrait of the couple. Traditionally, husbands and wives had been portrayed separately on pendant paintings, although in 1633 the artist had painted his first large double-portrait, Lady and Gentleman in Black, one of the paintings famously stolen from the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum in Boston in 1990. As a double-portrait of the artist with his wife, this etching is almost without precedent in print, with the notable exception of the double-portrait of Israhel van Meckenem with his Wife Ida of around 1490, which Rembrandt may well have known.
Self-Portrait with Saskia shows the artist prominently in the front, while Saskia sits at the back of the table. Both are dressed in 16th century costume, presumably as a way of placing the image – and himself as an artist – in the Renaissance tradition. Rembrandt seems to be at work, seemingly drawing the very scene he is observing in the mirror, although this is certainly a ploy, as the two portraits were very likely created in at least two separate sittings. Despite the slightly disjointed aspect of the two figures, there is a great tenderness and pride in their proximity on the sheet, and the way he presents her as his wife, with such poise and quiet confidence. He must have loved her very much, as his many depictions of her suggest, most poignantly the sketches of her being ill, and it is sad to think that only six years later Saskia would no longer be alive.