A Woman bathing in a Stream (Hendrickje Stoffels?)

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Rembrandt’s painting, unique for him in its tender intimacy, shows a young woman almost up to her knees in a stream. She lifts her shift and looks down with a little smile of pleasure at the cool water rippling against her sturdy legs. Although it’s not certain, this woman may be Hendrickje Stoffels, who came into Rembrandt’s household to look after his infant son after his first wife, Saskia, died. Hendrickje and Rembrandt became lovers but were unable to marry. In the year this picture was painted, Hendrickje endured public humiliation because she was pregnant outside of marriage. Perhaps the painting was a homage to her strength and loyalty. It has been suggested that the picture is a study for a biblical heroine in a much larger picture, but the plain shift the woman wears is enough to raise a doubt: such a heroine would have been richly dressed or nude.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

A Woman bathing in a Stream (Hendrickje Stoffels?)

Date

1654

Medium

Oil on oak

Measurements

H 61.8 x W 47 cm

Accession number

NG54

Acquisition method

Holwell Carr Bequest, 1831

Work type

Painting

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