Rembrandt van Rijn
Saskia van Uylenburgh
Rembrandt’s ‘Saskia van Uylenburgh’ visits Amsterdam The Amsterdam Museum exhibits Rembrandt’s portrait of Saskia van Uylenburgh. On loan from Washington’s National Gallery of Art, the work will appear on loan at the Amsterdam Museum for two years, from 2 August 2013 (Saskia’s birthday).]]>
August 3, 2013, source: The Amsterdam Museum
In addition to being a superb example of the artist’s genius, this portrait of Saskia van Uylenburgh also tells part of Rembrandt’s own personal story. He probably began painting the portrait in 1634/1635, shortly after he and Saskia were married, and only completed it some years later, around 1640. Following its recent restoration, it is now possible to enjoy the amazing quality of this intimate portrait. The work was last shown in Europe in 1894, in Paris, and now makes its first appearance in a European museum in the Netherlands.
Saskia van Uylenburgh (1612-1642) was the first wife of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669). Born to an affluent Frisian family, she married the artist in 1634. They had four children, only one of whom survived: Titus. Saskia died in 1642, aged 29. She was buried in Amsterdam’s Oude Kerk.
This loan is part of a long-term arrangement between the two museums. In 2012, a major group portrait by Bartholomeus van der Helst went from the Amsterdam Museum collection to the US for a five-year stay at the National Gallery of Art. The loan was made possible by the Dutch State: the Department of Cultural Heritage provided an indemnity guarantee on behalf of the Ministry of Education and, Culture and Science (OCW) and the Ministry of Finance.
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