Loading

This is one of the most beautiful portraits in the Royal Collection. Its companion, in the Musée Royal des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, depicts Nicolaes van Bembeeck (1596 - 1661), a wool merchant who had married Agatha Bas (1611-58) in 1638. It is also signed and dated 1641. The couple lived in the Sint Anthoniesbreestraat, where Rembrandt himself lived from 1631; they were almost certainly known to the artist. Rembrandt introduced a new compositional device in this painting: the figure is posed within a painted ebony frame which blurs the boundaries between the imaginary space within the composition and the real world outside. The sense of direct contact with the sitter is achieved partly through the striking gesture of the hand resting against the frame and partly by showing the fan protruding over the edge towards the viewer's space. An earlier reduction in the size of the canvas has considerably reduced this illusionistic effect. The different levels of finish in the painting are particularly striking. For instance, Rembrandt portrays the fine hairs at the edge of the hairline through curling lines incised into the paint with the end of the brush, and in contrast to such direct handling the depiction of Agatha Bas's skin and eyes is remarkably subtle and delicate. There are five paintings by Rembrandt in the Royal Collection, the earliest of which, 'The Artist's Mother(?)', was presented to Charles I before 1633, and was thus one of the first works by Rembrandt to reach England. Of the three Rembrandts collected by George IV, 'The Shipbuilder and his Wife', purchased for 5,000 guineas in 1811, was perhaps his most famous single acquisition. Signed and dated Rembrandt f. / 1641 and inscribed AE 29

Details

  • Title: Agatha Bas (1611-58)
  • Creator: Rembrandt van Rijn
  • Creator Lifespan: 1606 - 1669
  • Creator Gender: None
  • Creator Death Place: Amsterdam
  • Creator Birth Place: Leiden
  • Date Created: 1641
  • Type: Painting
  • Rights: Supplied by Royal Collection Trust / (c) HM Queen Elizabeth II 2012
  • External Link: http://www.rct.uk/collection/405352
  • Medium: Oil on Canvas
  • Provenance: Louis Bernard Coclers (Amsterdam), 1805; imported into England by Nieuwenhuys and offered at Christie's, London, 29 June 1814 (76); subsequently bought by John Smith; by whom sold to Lord Charles Townshend; his sale, Robins, London, 4 June 1819 (32); bought by Lord Yarmouth for George IV (£74 10s.)
  • Object description: Half-length, standing, facing the spectator, at a window; she rests her left hand against the window frame and holds a fan in her right hand; she is wearing an elaborate lace collar and lace cuffs with a lace cap and pearls at her neck and wrists.

Get the app

Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more

Flash this QR Code to get the app
Google apps