Self-Portrait with Saskia
Medium
Etching on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 10.4 × 9.2 cm (4 1/8 × 3 5/8 in.); Sheet, cut within platemark: 10.6 × 9.6 cm (4 3/16 × 3 13/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
22557
Art Historical Context
In 1636, Rembrandt van Rijn, the Dutch Baroque master, created this intimate *Self-Portrait with Saskia*, an etching capturing a tender moment with his wife, Saskia Uylenburgh, whom he had married just two years earlier. At the height of his early career in Amsterdam, Rembrandt was riding a wave of success, producing portraits and history paintings that showcased his revolutionary use of chiaroscuro—dramatic contrasts of light and shadow. This small-scale work (just 10.4 × 9.2 cm) reflects the personal joy of his prosperous life, with the couple gazing affectionately amid luxurious attire, evo...
About the Artist
Rembrandt van Rijn · 1606–1669
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669) stands as one of the greatest visual artists in the history of Western art and the most important Dutch painter of the 17th century. Born in Leiden to a prosperous miller's family, Rembrandt transformed painting through his revolutionary use of light and shadow, his psychological depth in portraiture, and his elevation of etching to a fine art. His approx...