3-102-289 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'A Woman Bathing', 1654, (1967). Alternative title: A Woman bathing in a Stream (Hendrickje Stoffels?). 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 smile of pleasure at the cool water rippling against her legs. The model for this work may be Hendrickje Stoffels, who came into Rembrandt's household to look after his infant son after his first wife, Saskia, had 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. Painting in the National Gallery, London. From "Rembrandt" by Ludwig Münz and Bob Haak, [Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 1967]