Rembrandt, Portrait of Aechje Claesdr
1634Paintings sorted by Historical period | Painter | Subject matter | Pigments used
Overview
Rembrandt, Portrait of Aechje Claesdr is one of the several oval portraits fashionable at that time. The masterfully executed black dress and white ruff complement the expressive countenance of the old woman.
The pigment analysis revealed a limited palette consisting of red and yellow ochres, bone black, lead white, and vermilion.
Date: 1634
Medium: oil
Support: oak
Size: 71.1 x 55.9 cm
Art period: Baroque
Painting in the Rembrandt Database
Characterization of this painting by the scientists of the Rembrandt Research Project (1):
“A well preserved, authentic work, reliably signed and dated 1634. It is impossible to be entirely certain that the oval format is original.”
(1) J. Bruyn, B. Haak, S. H. Levie, P. J. J. van Thiel, E. van de Wetering, Portrait of an 83-year-old woman, in A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings, vol II: pp. 571-77.
Pigments
Pigment Analysis
This pigment analysis is based on the work of the scientists at the National Gallery London (1).
1 Black dress: bone black mixed with a little lead white in the lighter areas.
2 White ruff and cap: lead white of high purity.
3 Flesh paint: lead white tinted with vermilion and red ochre and then modified with thin scumbles of yellow ochre for the yellow areas, and a mixture of vermilion, red ochre and a little bone black for the redder areas. (Scumble: to soften the color or tone of a painted area by overlaying parts with opaque or semiopaque color applied thinly and lightly with an almost dry brush.)
4 Background: yellow ochre and brownish-black mixed with a red lake. The more opaque greyish layer left and right contains lead white and bone black tinted with yellow ochre.
References
(1) Bomford, D. et al., Art in the making: Rembrandt, New edition, Yale University Press, 2006, pp. 70-74.
Pigments Used in This Painting
Resources
See the collection of online and offline resources such as books, articles, videos, and websites on Rembrandt in the section ‘Resources on Painters‘
PowerPoint Presentations
Painter in Context: Rembrandt
A richly illustrated presentation on the painting technique and pigments employed by Hieronymus Bosch specially crafted for Art Education. (Number of Slides = 20)
- Each presentation starts with the basic resources on the painter such as his biography, main catalogs of his paintings, and a bibliography.
- Next, you find slides describing the painting technique of the artist and the pigments he usually employed in his work.
- The majority of the slides show examples of paintings containing the specific pigments.
The majority of the slides show important examples of paintings where Rembrandt employed specific pigments. The slides are organized according to the color of the pigments.
Videos
Video: 'Rembrandt's Women' by Rembrandt Tour
Publications and Websites
Publications
(1) Bomford, D. et al., Art in the making: Rembrandt, New edition, Yale University Press, 2006, pp. 70-74.
(2) J. Bruyn, B. Haak, S. H. Levie, P. J. J. van Thiel, E. van de Wetering, Portrait of an 83-year-old woman, in A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings, vol II: pp. 571-77.
