Hendrickje Bathing in a River 1654

Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-69), soaked up influences from the Italian Baroque through Dutch followers of Caravaggio. Revered for his portraits and self-portraits, not to mention biblical paintings and prints, his prodigious output required a large number of apprentices and paying students. Rembrandt painted this small oak panel in the year that his housekeeper Hendrickie Stoffels became his mistress, seven years after the death of his wife Saskia. Although Rembrandt continued to paint biblical themes, the title does not suggest a particular subject such as Susanna or Bathsheba, both of which are associated with bathing. The warmth and intimacy suggests that Hendrickje was the model. She is totally absorbed in the sensation of cold water on her legs and feet and is completely oblivious of the viewer