Artwork
Saskia(?) Lying in Bed
Saskia(?) Lying in Bed is an ink drawing by the Baroque artist Rembrandt. It dates from 1638 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created around 1638, this intimate drawing by Rembrandt van Rijn portrays a woman reclining in a bed. Executed with pen and ink, a brush-applied brown wash, and laid paper, the composition is dominated by a single candle’s glow that illuminates the sitter’s face while the surrounding space recedes into shadowy, smudged forms.
Subject & Meaning
The figure is widely identified as Rembrandt’s wife, Saskia, depicted during a moment of apparent fatigue or illness. Her closed eyes, relaxed hands, and the subdued atmosphere suggest a private, contemplative scene, capturing the vulnerability and domestic tenderness of a shared domestic life.
Technique & Style
The drawing employs swift, gestural strokes that convey immediacy, while a thin brown wash adds a warm, candlelit ambience. Rembrandt’s use of cross‑hatching creates subtle tonal variations, building depth through intersecting lines that model the figure and the surrounding darkness.
History & Provenance
Likely produced in the artist’s own studio, the work reflects Rembrandt’s habit of drawing Saskia during periods of ill health. The piece has remained within the documented oeuvre of his early Dutch period and is catalogued among his domestic studies, though its precise ownership trail before modern acquisition is not fully recorded.
Artist & collection
Artist
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), known mononymously as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and draughtsman.
