The Great Jewish Bride

Despite the title and elaborate costume, this etching is one of Rembrandt's most descriptive portraits of his first wife Saskia Uylenburgh (1612-42), whom he had married in 1635. He seems to have begun the plate working informally from life, and then reworked it through five successive states, adding to and strengthening the shading in the background, the hair and the sleeves of her dress, showing the lengths to which he would go to achieve the desired result. The title can be traced to the early 18th century, and was based on the custom for Jewish brides at the time to wear their hair loose, adorned with a string of pearls. In this understanding the scroll in the woman's hand is a ketubah, the Jewish contract of marriage. Other more recent interpretations include: an actress in the role of the goddess Minerva holding her script; a sibyl clasping a prophecy; and the bibical hero Esther awaiting an audience with King Ahasuerus in order to plead for the Jews living in Persia.