Young Woman in Fantasy Costume

Rembrandt van Rijn, 1633

The young woman’s clothing is not in keeping with the fashions of Rembrandt’s day, but rather reflects styles of earlier centuries. The woman’s distinctive features – a domed forehead, slightly bulging eyes, and pronounced chin – are easily recognized in depictions of ancient goddesses and heroines that Rembrandt painted in the 1630s. Thus the painting is not strictly a portrait, but a ‘tronie’, or fantasy head.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-4057
  • Dimensionsheight 65 cm x width 48 cm, height 86.8 cm x width 70.5 cm x depth 6.5 cm
  • Physical characteristicsoil on panel

Identification

  • Title(s)

    • Young Woman in Fantasy Costume
    • Portrait of a Woman, thought to be Rembrandt´s Wife Saskia van Uylenburgh (1612-1642) (former title)
  • Object type

  • Object number

    SK-A-4057

  • Description

    Portret van een vrouw, vermoedelijk Rembrandts vrouw Saskia van Uylenburgh (1612-1642). Buste naar rechts, het gelaat aanziend. Over het haar een dunne sluier, met parelen oorbellen en om de hals een parelsnoer.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    signature and date: ‘Rembrandt ft. 1633’


Creation

  • Creation

    painter: Rembrandt van Rijn

  • Dating

    1633

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    oil on panel

  • Dimensions

    • height 65 cm x width 48 cm
    • height 86.8 cm x width 70.5 cm x depth 6.5 cm

This work is about

  • Person

  • Subject


Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    De Bruijn-van der Leeuw Bequest, Muri, Switzerland

  • Acquisition

    bequest 1961

  • Copyright

  • Provenance

    …; ? purchased by Thomas Bruce (1766-1841), 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine, Broomhall, Fife, at an unknown date;{According to a letter dated 21 January 1933 from Edward James Bruce to Joseph Duveen quoted in Isaac de Bruijn's notes preserved at the Rijksmuseum.} ? by descent to his grandson, Victor Alexander Bruce (1849-1917), 9th Earl of Elgin, 13th Earl of Kincardine, Broomhall, Fife; first mentioned in his collection, 1893;{Hofstede de Groot 1893, p. 223.} his son, Edward James Bruce (1881-1968), 10th Earl of Elgin, 14th Earl of Kincardine, Broomhall, Fife; from whom, £ 7,000, to the dealer Joseph Duveen, Paris and New York, 1926;{Secrest 2004, p. 478.} from whom, $ 35,000, to Isaac de Bruijn (1872-1953), Spiez and Muri, near Bern, December 1932;{Isaac de Bruijn's notes preserved at the Rijksmuseum; Secrest 2004, p. 478, where it is mistakenly stated that Duveen bought the painting back and resold it to an unknown buyer.} donated by Isaäc de Bruijn and his wife, Johanna Geertruida van der Leeuw (1877-1960), Spiez and Muri, near Bern, to the Vereeniging Rembrandt on the 50th anniversary of its founding, for placement in the Rijksmuseum, but kept in usufruct, 1933; transferred to the museum, 1961

  • Remarks

    Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.


Documentation

    • Zie veiling Christie's London (85 Old Brompton Road) 'Old Masters & British Paintings' (05-07-2013) lot nr. 65: After Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, 'Portrait of a lady, possibly Saskia van Uylenburgh (1612-1642)'.
    • The Rembrandt Database, Object information, Rembrandt, Young woman in fantasy costume, dated 1633, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv. no. SK-A-4057, http://www.rembrandtdatabase.org/Rembrandt/painting/3067/young-woman-in-fantasy-costume, accessed 2016 February 01
    • G. Luijten, ''De veelheid en de eelheid' : een Rijksmuseum Schmidt-Degener', Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 35 (1984), p. 376, afb. 24.

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