Saskia Sitting up in Bed, Holding a Child

Rembrandt's first wife, Saskia Uylenburgh (1612-1642), often posed for him, appearing in the guise of a goddess or queen in some of his major paintings. By contrast, in this intimate and seemingly spontaneous sketch, Rembrandt captures her in a private domestic moment. Saskia sits up in bed, cradling their tightly swaddled child. She appears from behind a curatin, which partially shadows her softly modelled face, itself framed by the lines of the headdress and knotted ribbon around her neck. She looks directly at Rembrandt as he sketches her, his free and cursory use of red chalk emphasising the drawing's informal and private character. The couple married in 1633 and had four children, but only one, Titus, born in 1641, lived beyond infancy. This work is usually dated to the 1630s, suggesting that the child depicted may be one of Titus's siblings who did not reach adulthood.