Portrait of Cornelis Claeszoon Anslo and his wife Aaltje Schouten

Rembrandt's double portrait of the Mennonite preacher Cornelis Claeszoon Anslo and his wife Aaltje Schouten from 1641 was inspired by a direct challenge from the poet Joost van den Vondel, who wrote that no painter could capture the true power of Anslo's preaching because that power resided in his voice. Rembrandt responded by depicting Anslo mid-oration, his mouth open, his hand hovering over a Bible whose words he is expounding, his wife listening with absolute attention — a painterly equivalent of the voiceprint Vondel claimed was impossible. The result is one of the great double portraits of the Dutch Golden Age, and one of the few in which the psychological relationship between sitters is actively dramatized rather than merely implied by their proximity. Anslo was celebrated as Amsterdam's most persuasive lay preacher within the Mennonite community, and the commission reflects the ambition of that community to document its leading figures with the same dignity as the Reformed clergy. The Gemäldegalerie in Berlin holds the painting as one of the most intellectually complex portraits in its Dutch collection.

Rembrandt positions Anslo gesturing toward an open Bible, with his wife turned attentively toward him rather than the viewer—an unusually narrative arrangement for a formal portrait. Rich impasto in the white collar and cuffs contrasts with the deep, transparent shadows of the background. Warm amber light unifies both figures.