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Maker Once Known; Rijn, Rembrandt van (after)
Head of an Old Woman Tête de vieille femme
c. 1630 v. 1630

This small panel features the woman known as “Rembrandt’s mother”, a model who appears in numerous paintings, drawings and prints by Rembrandt van Rijn and those in his circle. The specificity of the depiction of old age–the wrinkles in the forehead and around the eyes, the deft use of violet to articulate veins visible through the transparent skin, the slackness in the cheeks to indicate a toothless mouth–points to Rembrandt’s use of a live model. Yet this painting is just one of fourteen known versions, of which no original by Rembrandt has been traced. The high number of copies suggests that the master used his painting as a studio exercise for his students in Leiden and perhaps Amsterdam.

Maker Once Known; Rijn, Rembrandt van (after)
Lieden, Netherlands 1606-Amsterdam, Netherlands 1669 Lieden, Netherlands 1606-Amsterdam, Netherlands 1669
Head of an Old Woman Tête de vieille femme
c. 1630 v. 1630
Oil on panel Huile sur panneau
24.8 x 19.0 cm
Gift of Isabel Bader, 2019 Don d'Isabel Bader, 2019
62-004.01

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