Reclining Female Nude
Medium
Etching, drypoint, and engraving, on ivory Japanese paper
Dimensions
Sheet trimmed to platemark: 8.1 × 15.8 cm (3 1/4 × 6 1/4 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
80079
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Scholars have widely debated Rembrandt’s choice of either a light- or dark-skinned model for this magnificently ambiguous etching. In the 18th century, its given title changed to variations of Reclining Negress. Rembrandt did portray an African model around 1630, but it is unclear if this much-later print represented another. The stark contrast between the cavernous darkness and the bright bed linens suggests the artist’s keen interest in depicting the play of light on skin. Rembrandt’s characte...
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...