Young woman with earrings

This small panel by Rembrandt shows a young woman wearing earrings, a simple subject that the painter handles with great attention to light, fabric and jewellery. It is an oil painting on panel of modest size, a support that allowed fine detail and a smooth surface capable of catching the glint of metal and the subtle shifts in skin tone. The work is dated 1638 in its catalogue record, but other dates, such as 1657, have been proposed, a reminder that the chronology of many Rembrandt paintings is not fixed with complete certainty. Some references also know it as Courtesan at her Mirror, a title that suggests the scene as a portrait of a woman in a private moment. The identity of the sitter is not known, however, and it should not be assumed. What is well documented is its later history. In 1781 the Paris-based collector Sylvain-Raphaël de Baudouin sold it, together with 118 other works, to Catherine II of Russia through Melchior Grimm. It now belongs to the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. Its interest lies in how Rembrandt turns an almost intimate portrait into a study of light and human expression, without relying on an explicit narrative. This way of looking at everyday life is one of the most distinctive features of Dutch Golden Age painting.

Painter

Rembrandt

Date

1638

Medium

oil paint, panel

Dimensions

40 × 32 cm

Museum

Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

Movement

Dutch Golden Age painting

Genre

portrait

Depicts

earring, woman

Share:FacebookWhatsApp