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The Jewish Bride

Artist: Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669)
Date: c. 1665–1669
Dimensions: 121.5 x 166.5 cm
Medium: Oil on canvas
Location: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Jewish Bride, as it has been called since the 19th century, shows a couple in rich, old-fashioned clothes standing close together. The man gently lays his hand on the woman's breast, and she touches his hand with her fingertips, both lost in tender thought.

A closer look

The identity of the couple is unknown; they may be the biblical Isaac and Rebecca, or a real Amsterdam couple portrayed in biblical roles. What makes the painting famous is the way Rembrandt painted it in his last years: the man's golden sleeve and the woman's red dress are built up with thick layers of paint applied with a palette knife and even his fingers, so that the fabric seems to glow with its own light. The gestures of the hands express love, trust and protection without a word.

History of the painting

In the 19th century the painting belonged to the Amsterdam banker Adriaan van der Hoop, who bequeathed his collection to the city in 1854. It moved to the Rijksmuseum when the new building opened in 1885. That year Vincent van Gogh stood in front of it and wrote to his brother that he would give ten years of his life to sit before it for a fortnight with only a crust of dry bread.

The Jewish Bride

A closer look

History of the painting

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