Portrait of a Seated Woman with a Handkerchief

Rembrandt painted Portrait of a Seated Woman with a Handkerchief around 1644, a commissioned portrait of an Amsterdam woman of the prosperous merchant class rendered with the psychological depth and technical virtuosity of his early middle period. The sitter's identity is unknown but her costume suggests considerable wealth; her expression is thoughtful and contained, the handkerchief in her hands a quiet compositional focus that also suggests the preparation for tears or the restraint of emotion. Rembrandt's ability to suggest interior psychological states through the position of hands, the direction of gaze, and the subtle asymmetry of facial expression is at its most refined in his middle-period portraits of women.

The sitter's dark mourning clothes are enlivened by the white lace collar and cuffs, painted with Rembrandt's characteristic sensitivity to texture, while the warm, empathetic treatment of the face reveals his growing psychological depth.