Tender and sensual, Rembrandt’s Portrait of Hendrickje Stoffels exudes a palpable intimacy between the painter and subject that suggests more than an everyday one between artist and model. The young woman depicted is believed to represent Hendrickje Stoffels, the painter’s mistress.

She was brought before the Elders of the Dutch Church and condemned as a whore for her pregnancy, yet returns the gaze of the artist steadily and frankly. Lecturer Elizabeth Allen will explore the roles of model, muse and mistress in 17th-century Holland.

Image above: Detail from Rembrandt, Portrait of Hendrickje Stoffels