 | Museum Het Rembrandthuis Jodenbreestraat 4 1011 NK Amsterdam The Netherlands T +31 20 520 0400 E museum@ museumrembrandthuis.nl Press Inquiries: press-office@museumrembrandthuis.nl |
Museum Het Rembrandthuis
Jodenbreestraat 4
1011 NK Amsterdam
The Netherlands
T +31 20 520 0400
E museum@ museumrembrandthuis.nl
Press Inquiries: press-office@museumrembrandthuis.nl
The Jewish Bride
One of Rembrandt’s most famous works is the painting known as The
Jewish Bride. The painting acquired this name at the beginning of the
nineteenth century, but the subject of the picture remains a mystery to
this day. Is it an Old Testament couple? Or is it a double portrait of
two of Rembrandt’s contemporaries? It could also be a combination of
both possibilities—a man and a woman who had themselves immortalized as
biblical figures. This is known as a portrait historié, a historicized
portrait. If this is the case, most art historians believe that the
couple represent Isaac and Rebecca. Another, more neutral explanation
is that the man is declaring his love to his wife. In that case the
subject of the painting would be the virtue of marriage. As well as the
uncertainty as to the subject, we also do not know the year in which
Rembrandt painted this work. It is dated to about 1666. Rembrandt
applied the paint very roughly in this painting. The paint on the man’s
sleeve is so thick that it seems as though Rembrandt used a palette
knife to put it on.
Rembrandt, The Jewish Bride,
signed and dated ‘Rembrandt f 16(..)’,
canvas, 121,5 x 166,5 cm, Amsterdam,
Rijksmuseum (Br. 416)
