The Jewish Bride
Rembrandt·1667
Historical Context
Rembrandt's so-called Jewish Bride from around 1665-69, in the Rijksmuseum, is among the most moving paintings of human love ever created. The identities of the couple remain unknown—they may represent Isaac and Rebecca, or a real Amsterdam couple in biblical costume. Vincent van Gogh said he would give ten years of his life to sit before the painting for two weeks. The extraordinary tenderness of the man's hand resting on the woman's breast, and her hand touching his, creates an image of physical and spiritual intimacy without parallel in Western art.
Technical Analysis
Rembrandt's late technique reaches its most lavish expression in the thick impasto of the golden and crimson costumes, applied with palette knife and brush in an almost sculptural manner. The hands—the painting's emotional center—are modeled with exquisite sensitivity within the surrounding richness of paint.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the man's hand resting on the woman's breast — the painting's emotional center, a gesture of tender possession or protection.
- ◆Look at the woman's hand touching his — the answering gesture that makes the composition one of the most moving images of conjugal love in Western art.
- ◆Observe the lavish impasto of the golden and crimson costumes — the paint applied with palette knife and brush in an almost sculptural manner.
- ◆Find within the surrounding richness of paint the hands, painted with exquisite sensitivity relative to the costume's overwhelming texture.
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