Studies of the Head of Saskia and Others

This etching belongs to a small number of study sheets in which Rembrandt’s wife Saskia is the primary subject (see also New Hollstein 157, 158, 161 & 162). They belong to the tradition of model-books, compilations of a variety of expressions and poses to be kept and referenced at a later date. This example depicts six heads, five of which are Saskia, seen from several view-points, either wearing a hat or a hood, or her head uncovered revealing her lustrous hair. The remaining study at the left is that of a turbaned old woman. The print shares a remarkable spontaneity and intimacy with a drawing in pen and brown ink from the same period, depicting four studies of Saskia in various attitudes of sleep or repose and cradling an infant (Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam; acc. no. R 83).