The identity of this formidable woman is not known, but her black cap indicates that she is in mourning and is probably a widow. Her stern demeanor, the wide-wheel ruff collar she wears, and the Bible she holds in her lap all suggest that she was a conservative member of Dutch society and dedicated to her religious beliefs. Despite the bold execution, the portrait is remarkably subdued. The sitter does not communicate directly with the viewer through a gaze or gesture, but rather appears lost in thought as she ponders the words of the Bible she has just read. She stares outward but looks inward, gently touching the clasp of the Bible with one hand while holding her spectacles between the fingers of the other.
Because such black, fur-trimmed costumes are found in Dutch painting from the mid-1630s until the late 1650s, the dating of this imposing canvas has been particularly problematic. Until a date was discovered in the lower left at the beginning of the twentieth century, it was generally described in an all-inclusive way as belonging to Rembrandt’s “best period.” First read as 1643, the date was later believed to be 164[7]. The confusion is understandable because damage in this area of the painting obliterates a portion of both the signature and the date. The conservation treatment of the painting in 1983, however, revealed that the date should be read as 1637. While the damage does affect both the “6” and the “3,” enough of each number survives to identify them (see this painting’s inscription). The signature and date are integral with the paint structure and are of a type characteristic of the late 1630s.
This information is of some consequence when discussing the attribution of the work, which has been rejected in recent years by both Gerson and Schwartz. Indeed, while the execution does not relate easily with Rembrandt’s paintings from the late 1640s, close comparisons can be made with other women’s portraits from the late 1630s, in particular Alotte Adriaensdr. of 1639 in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam [fig. 1]
[fig. 1] Rembrandt van Rijn, Alotte Adraensdr., 1639, oil on panel, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. Not only are the costumes worn by both women similar, but the sure modeling of features in both portraits is achieved through a variety of short, unblended brushstrokes. Among those areas of the face that best bear the characteristics of artistic approach are the articulation of the eyes, the modeling of folds just below the eyes, the formation of the mouth, and the way the pulled-back hair is indicated with thin black strokes drawn from the forehead to the hair. Since the features of the somewhat older woman in the Washington painting are rougher and the thrust of light on the face stronger, the brushwork is freer than in the Rotterdam portrait. In both works, nevertheless, Rembrandt used his paint to suggest at once the structure of the face and the patterns of light and dark that accent the form.
The woman’s hands and the Bible in An Old Lady with a Book are likewise modeled with bold strokes and great surety. Their forms are quite geometric and their positions carefully conceived, yet Rembrandt has suggested the nuances of texture and modeling with great sensitivity. The sheen of the flesh as it is accented by the light seems to glow from within, while the metallic corners of the book glisten with specular reflections. Also remarkable is the subtle translucence of the eyeglasses, which reveal the diffused images of the thumb and finger beneath them.
The surety of Rembrandt’s modeling of form is particularly evident in the X-radiographs [fig. 2]
[fig. 2] Detail of head, X-radiograph composite, Rembrandt van Rijn and Workshop, An Old Lady with a Book, 1637, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1937.1.73 [see X-radiographyA photographic or digital image analysis method that visually records an object's ability to absorb or transmit x-rays. The differential absorption pattern is useful for examining an object's internal structure as well as for comparing the variation in pigment types.]. Here also the distribution of lead white is compatible with that of other portraits from the middle to late 1630s. No PentimentiAn alteration made by the artist to an area that was already painted. are evident as Rembrandt seems to have worked directly on the canvas with great confidence of his intent. As is evident from the surface but also from the X-radiographs, the collar is painted very densely. Technical analysis indicates that it was executed in two layers. This technique was probably developed to help convey the translucent quality of the material. Folds along the edges of the material were articulated with strokes of gray for the shadows and strokes of white for the accented portions.
Despite stylistic connections with Rembrandt’s work from the late 1630s, the figure is unusually stiff and formal in its presentation. Gerson complained that the hands were “without expression,” but the same criticism could be more aptly applied to the upright position of the woman as she sits rigidly in the armchair. Indeed, compared to most Rembrandt sitters, she seems rather remote. In part, Rembrandt’s characterization must be seen in response to the personality of the patron, an intangible in the process of portrait painting that can never be adequately assessed. The woman’s restrained demeanor must also be understood within the iconographic content of this work. Unlike most of Rembrandt’s subjects the woman does not make eye contact with the viewer. His intent was to emphasize how the word of the Bible has made an impact on the woman’s state of being rather than to enliven her form with momentary expression or gesture.
The fascinating conceit of depicting the woman contemplating a written text is consistent with Rembrandt’s interest in extending the limits of portraiture during the late 1630s and early 1640s. Just how remarkable the concept is can be seen through a comparison with Solomon Koninck’s Portrait of an Elderly Lady, 1634 [fig. 3]
[fig. 3] Solomon Koninck, Portrait of an Elderly Lady, 1634, oil on panel, Hopetoun House Preservation Trust, near Edinburgh. Here, even though all of the components of the painting are comparable, the woman has posed as though interrupted from her text rather than immersed in her thoughts. Rembrandt’s interest in demonstrating the effect of words on a sitter’s mind can also be found in his graphic work from the 1630s and early 1640s, in particular his etched portrait of Jan Cornelis Silvius, 1633, and his etching Man at a Desk Wearing a Cross and Chain, 1641. In painting, this conceit culminated in 1641 in his magnificent Portrait of Anslo and His Wife, 1641 (Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz), where he conveyed the impact of the preacher’s words through the quiet, reflective mood of the woman.
Despite the inventiveness of the portrait concept and the painterly qualities evident in the face, it seems probable that Rembrandt relegated the costume, chair, and background to a studio assistant. The brushwork in those portions of the painting is comparatively uninspired. A close comparison of the treatment of the millstone ruff on this portrait and that of Alotte Adriaensdr. ([fig. 1] [fig. 1] Rembrandt van Rijn, Alotte Adraensdr., 1639, oil on panel, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam), for example, reveals that this collar is executed with less sensitivity to the delicate nuances of light and form. The result is that the translucency of the material is rendered less illusionistically than it is in the Rotterdam portrait. A small but telling detail confirms that the collar was executed after the head was completely finished: a stroke of white paint overlaps the woman’s right cheek.
It may well be, then, that Rembrandt, after devising the concept for the portrait, blocked in the form in his customary manner, executed the head and the hands, and then passed on the unfinished canvas to an assistant to bring it to completion. Although this pupil cannot be identified, a strong candidate would be Ferdinand Bol (Dutch, 1616 - 1680), a trained artist who had moved from Dordrecht to Amsterdam to work as an apprentice and assistant with Rembrandt between the years of about 1636 and 1641. While it is difficult to determine which works Bol actually executed during those years, in his later career he painted a large number of portraits as well as biblical and mythological scenes. One portrait that has been convincingly attributed to him from the 1640s, and which is comparable to An Old Lady with a Book, is Portrait of Elizabeth Jacobsdr. Bas [fig. 4]
[fig. 4] Ferdinand Bol, Portrait of Elizabeth Jacobsdr. Bas, c. 1640, oil on canvas, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Although the brushwork in the costume is somewhat rougher and bolder in the Washington painting because of the need to paint in Rembrandt’s style, the bodies of both women have a massive yet static character that is quite similar, for example, in the way the fur-edged jackets fall across the women’s laps. Similar also is the manner in which the shadows fall across the women’s mill ruffs. Finally, the oblique perspective of the circular form of the chair arm is identical.
Arthur K. Wheelock Jr.
April 24, 2014
