Self-Portrait with Saskia

About this artwork

Rembrandt created this etching in 1636, two years after his marriage to Saskia van Uylenburgh on June 22, 1634. This is the only etching the artist ever made depicting himself and Saskia together, making it a unique document of their relationship. Both figures wear historical costume: Rembrandt sports a fanciful 16th-century plumed beret and fur-trimmed overcoat, while Saskia wears an old-fashioned veil. As the only formal double portrait of the couple in any medium, the etching belongs to the ...

Art Historical Context

In 1636, two years after his marriage to Saskia van Uylenburgh, Rembrandt van Rijn created this intimate etching, the only one depicting the couple together and their sole formal double portrait in any medium. A master of the Baroque style, Rembrandt captures a moment of domestic happiness during a peak of professional success in Amsterdam. Dressed in fanciful 16th-century costumes—Rembrandt in a plumed beret and fur-trimmed coat, Saskia in an old-fashioned veil—they evoke Netherlandish portrait traditions while symbolizing enduring marital love. Rembrandt asserts his identity as an artist by holding a porte-crayon, a tool for drawing implements, blending personal tenderness with professional pride. This etching showcases his early mastery of printmaking, using varied line work to achieve painterly effects like rich tonal gradations and textures, rivaling the depth of his oils. A gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1917 from Henry Walters, this rare print offers a window into Rembrandt's life and his innovative etching techniques, making it a treasured highlight in the Drawings and Prints department.

About the Artist

Rembrandt (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...