['Woman with the Arrow', 'Woman with the Arrow'] by Rembrandt van Rijn

['Woman with the Arrow', 'Woman with the Arrow'] 1661

pencil drawn

light pencil work

pencil sketch

charcoal drawing

charcoal art

portrait reference

pencil drawing

tonal art

charcoal

graphite

Rembrandt van Rijn's "Woman with the Arrow" (1661), is an etching that depicts a nude woman seated in a pose that evokes classical sculpture. The woman’s back is turned to the viewer, with her right arm extended and her fingers reaching towards an arrow. The artist's mastery of light and shadow, characteristic of his style, gives the figure a three-dimensional quality despite the print's small size. This etching, now housed in the Rijksmuseum, is a testament to Rembrandt's unparalleled skill in capturing human form and emotion.

Comments

rijksmuseum over 1 year ago

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['Modelling with raised arms is tiring. To provide this woman with some relief, she most likely held onto a cord. Rembrandt set her in a narrative context by transforming the cord into an arrow and introducing the face of a man in the darkness at the left. Perhaps she represents Venus who takes away Cupid’s arrow; the scene has also been interpreted as Cleopatra with her lover.', 'Modelling with raised arms is tiring. To provide this woman with some relief, she most likely held onto a cord. Rembrandt set her in a narrative context by transforming the cord into an arrow and introducing the face of a man in the darkness at the left. Perhaps she represents Venus who takes away Cupid’s arrow; the scene has also been interpreted as Cleopatra with her lover.']