The Story
The following is a list of paintings by Rembrandt that are accepted as autograph by the Rembrandt Research Project. For other catalogues raisonnés of Rembrandt, see the "Rembrandt" navigation box below.
Created in 1634 during the 1600-1650 period, this work belongs firmly within the portrait tradition. Rembrandt van Rijn worked at a moment when the rivalry between Catholic Baroque drama and Protestant restraint reshaped what a painting could mean. Every gesture, fabric, and gleam of light was decoded by contemporary viewers like a private language.
Executed in Joint acquisition by the Dutch State and the French Republic, collection Rijksmuseum/collection Musée du Louvre, measuring height: 207.5; width: 132; depth: 3.7, the surface rewards close looking. Rembrandt van Rijn builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
