Old Woman Cutting Her Nails
ca. 1655–60
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
49 5/8 x 40 1/8 in. (126.1 x 101.9 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913
Accession Number
14.40.609
Tags
About this artwork
This paintings exemplifies the artistic traditions of its period. Created ca. 1655–60, it demonstrates the oil on canvas technique characteristic of its era.
Art Historical Context
Rembrandt van Rijn's *Old Woman Cutting Her Nails (ca. 1655–60) captures an intimate, everyday moment with profound humanity. Painted in oil on canvas—a medium that dominated the Dutch Golden Age for its rich textures and luminous effects—this large-scale work (49 5/8 x 40 1/8 in.) depicts an elderly woman in a simple act of personal grooming. As a master of the Baroque period, Rembrandt elevates the mundane, transforming a solitary figure into a study of age, vulnerability, and quiet dignity. Created during Rembrandt's later years in Amsterdam, amid personal and financial hardships, the pain...