Terms and conditions of use
Studies of the head of Saskia and others
1636
- Medium
- etching
- Measurements
- 15.1 × 12.6 cm (plate) 15.2 × 12.7 cm (sheet)
- Place/s of Execution
- Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Catalogue/s Raisonné
- Bartsch 365; Hind 145; White & Boon 365; NHD 157 i/ii
- Edition
- 1st of 2 states
- Inscription
- printed in ink (in image) l.c.: Rembrandt.f. / 1636
- Accession Number
- 2024.97
- Departments
- International Prints / International Prints and Drawings
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Andrew Sisson through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2024 - Gallery location
- 17th Century & Flemish Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International - About this work
-
In this etching Rembrandt depicts his young wife, Saskia Uylenburgh, in the centre of the image, surrounded by sketches of five other heads in various stages of completion. The variety of headdresses and the different angles from which the heads are depicted suggest that these were studies for figures in genre pictures or biblical narratives. Such a ‘study sheet’ was commonly made by a workshop master as part of the instruction of students. A strong market developed for these prints among collectors, as is corroborated by the number of impressions Rembrandt printed of them in his lifetime.
