A Woman Holding a Pink
Shown from the lap up against a dark background, a pale-skinned woman wearing a black dress looks out at us in this vertical portrait. Soft light coming from our left highlights her oval face, the peach blush on her cheeks, and her crisp white collar, cap, and cuffs. Her brown hair is pulled back under the cap that flares slightly over her ears and the wide, lace-trimmed collar covers her shoulders. She has dark eyes, a straight nose, and her pink lips are slightly parted. Her left arm, on our right, rests on a table covered with a rose-red patterned carpet next to two pieces of fruit, perhaps apples, and a book fastened with metal clasps. She rests her other arm on the arm of the wooden chair and holds a deep pink carnation the same color as the carpet. She wears a ring on the third finger of each hand. The artist signed the work with black paint against the dark background near the upper right corner: “Rembrandt. f.1656.”
Details
- Palette
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Select a color to find related artworks.
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- overall: 103 x 86 cm (40 9/16 x 33 7/8 in.) framed: 132.1 x 116.2 cm (52 x 45 3/4 in.)
- Department
- CNE-B
- Holding institution
- National Gallery of Art
- Image provider
- national-gallery-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Art Genome Taxonomy
7 tags
Subject Matter
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Individual Portrait Both · 100%
The image shows a single seated woman facing the viewer, and the National Gallery of Art identifies the work as a vertical portrait of a woman.
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Face Visual · 99%
The sitter’s face is the principal focal point, with the eyes, nose, mouth, and softly modeled features prominently illuminated.
Styles and Movements
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Old Masters Interpretive · 90%
Rembrandt van Rijn’s 1656 portrait is conventionally classified as an Old Master work in the art-historical sense.
Visual Qualities
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Dark Colors Visual · 98%
The composition is dominated by black, dark brown, and muted red, with white textiles and warm flesh tones providing contrast.
Medium and Techniques
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Chiaroscuro Visual · 97%
A dark brown ground and black dress contrast strongly with the selectively illuminated face, white clothing, and hands.
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Oil Painting Metadata · 100%
The museum records the medium as oil on canvas.
Time Periods
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17th Century Art Metadata · 100%
The work is dated 1656, placing it in the seventeenth century.
Source & rights
Rembrandt van Rijn. A Woman Holding a Pink. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.