Rembrandt - Portrait D'Hendrickje Stoffels

Rembrandt 1606-1609

Rembrandt - Portrait D'Hendrickje Stoffels, 1654-6

Huile sur toile 

101,9 x 83,7 cm

                                                            National Gallery London

When Rembrandt painted this very intimate portrait of his lover Hendrickje Stoffels (link ), she was in trouble with the church. The Protestant church in Amsterdam denounced her as a loose woman for living with Rembrandt without being married. In this painting, he declares the depth of his love. It is at once sensual – wearing just a fur round her shoulders, she seems ready for bed – and soulful. It is truly an act of love, this hymn to Hendrickje’s inner and outer beauty.

Rembrandt - Une femme se baignant dans le courant,1654

Huile sur toile 

61,8 x 47 cm

                                                            National Gallery London


This is an intimate moment in Rembrandt’s life with Hendrickje Stoffels. She became his mistress after the death of his wife Saskia( 1642), but Rembrandt could not remarry because it would jeopardise his inheritance from Saskia. He needed the money because his finances were a mess. When Rembrandt (who lavished cash on costumes for his portraits, curiosities for his collection and a fine house) went bankrupt, Hendrickje became his business representative.