Rembrandt’s 'Saskia van Uylenburgh in Arcadian Costume' travelled the UK in 2022 and 2023 as part of our Masterpiece tour. Ed, one of our Educators, and Laura, our Associate Curator of Renaissance Painting, explore the stories surrounding this portrait of Rembrandt's wife, Saskia van Uylenburgh.
Rembrandt, 'Saskia van Uylenburgh in Arcadian Costume', 1635
About the work
Overview
Saskia van Uylenburgh, the daughter of a burgomaster of Leeuwarden in Friesland, was Rembrandt’s first wife. Here, she is 23 years old; they have been married for a year. She is dressed as Flora, the Roman goddess of spring and fertility.
Her gorgeous gown is a seventeenth-century version of Renaissance dress and she carries an enormous bunch of spring flowers that includes tulips, roses, primulas and tiny pinks. More flowers decorate her neck and forehead. Pearls hang from her ears and peep from the crown of her head. Delicate green leaves wind round the stick in her other hand.
In their seven years of marriage, Saskia had four children. Only their son Titus survived. A year after he was born, Saskia died, so the ‘goddess of spring’ never reached the summer of her life.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Saskia van Uylenburgh in Arcadian Costume
- Artist
- Rembrandt
- Artist dates
- 1606 - 1669
- Date made
- 1635
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 123.5 × 97.5 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bought with contributions from the Art Fund, 1938
- Inventory number
- NG4930
- Location
- Room 22
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 19th-century English Frame
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
Images
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