Artwork
Woman Seated on the Ground with Two Children
Woman Seated on the Ground with Two Children 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 in 1638, this drawing by Rembrandt van Rijn portrays a domestic scene in which a woman sits on the ground with two young children. Executed with pen, brown ink and a brown wash on laid paper, the work measures the intimate interaction of the figures without elaborate background detail.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure, a modestly dressed woman with a head covering, cradles one child on her lap while a second child rests beside her. The composition emphasizes familial care and the quiet moments of everyday life, reflecting the artist’s interest in ordinary human relationships.
Technique & Style
Rembrandt employs confident, bold lines to define the figures, while the brown wash adds tonal depth and a sense of volume. The interplay of ink and wash creates subtle shading, and the gestural strokes convey a fleeting, lively presence within the static medium of drawing.
History & Provenance
The drawing is dated to the year 1638, a period when Rembrandt was actively producing both paintings and drawings that explored domestic subjects. It remains catalogued among his graphic works, though specific details of its ownership history are limited in the surviving records.
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.
Chinese figures eating food at a table
Two drawings of a boatwoman holding a child
La madone et les enfants (The Madonna and the Children)
A boatwoman with two children
The Menpes Children
Domestic Scene
The Menpes Children
A barber standing behind his customer
The Little Nurse
Group of Six Children (recto)
Gipsy Baby
La sortie de l'audience (1ère planche) (Coming Out of the Hearing) (first plate)