Saskia with Pearls in her Hair

The young woman depicted in this charming portrait is Rembrandt’s wife, Saskia van Uylenburgh (1612-42). Their marriage took place in July 1634, the same year in which this etching was made. Their conjugal happiness is reflected in the frequency with which Saskia appears in Rembrandt’s art at this time. Here Rembrandt seems to catch Saskia in a moment of reflection, looking away from the viewer with quiet introspection. Her clothing is fashionable and their prosperity as a couple signalled by the string of pearls which adorns her hair and neck, and the large pearl earring glistening in the light. The etching is executed with great fluency, from the broad, heavily bitten strokes which give shape and volume to her dress, bodice and puffed sleeves, to the delicate cross hatching and finer lines for her face and hair. After Saskia’s untimely death, and during a period of financial difficulty for the artist, one of Rembrandt's pupils, Philips Koninck (1619 - 1688), acquired from his master a pearl necklace that had belonged to Saskia, and it has been suggested that it might have been this very necklace. In this tender study there is no foreboding of future tragedy. As Christopher White comments: 'We feel complete empathy with the artist, as he lovingly draws the day-dreaming girl who happens to be his wife’ (White, 1999, p. 124-125).