Overview
After learning the fundamentals of drawing and painting in his native Leiden, Rembrandt van Rijn went to Amsterdam in 1624 to study for six months with Pieter Lastman (1583–1633), a famous history painter. Upon completion of his training Rembrandt returned to Leiden. Around 1632 he moved to Amsterdam, quickly establishing himself as the town’s leading artist, specializing in history paintings and portraiture. He received many commissions and attracted a number of students who came to learn his method of painting.
The simplicity of concept, forcefulness of execution, and nobility of character evident in A Woman Holding a Pink are qualities that have consistently garnered admiration for this work. The pink carnation held by the woman has long been associated with the sacrament of marriage, and it often symbolizes either marriage or betrothal. In a second association, the carnation, called nagelbloem (nail flower) in Dutch, is also associated with the Crucifixion of Christ. In family portraits, the carnation thus alludes to the fact that true conjugal love finds its inspiration in the divine love epitomized by Christ's Passion. In this particular work, the carnation furthermore relates to the still life on the tabletop: the book with brass clasps is probably a Bible, and the apples symbolize the legacy of original sin that the woman must strive to overcome through her faith.
Despite its undeniable quality and its clear relationship to Rembrandt's portrait style of the mid-1650s, A Woman Holding a Pink was probably executed by an artist in Rembrandt’s workshop rather than by the master himself. The high quality of the painting makes it probable that Rembrandt was in some way involved in its creation and execution; he may have helped compose the portrait, perhaps by blocking in its form, but the final image contains no evidence of his hand.
Entry
In writing about Rembrandt’s classicism of the mid-1650s, Sir Kenneth Clark juxtaposed illustrations of A Woman Holding a Pink and Rembrandt’s 1658 Self-Portrait in the Frick Collection
The questions about the painting’s attribution expressed in the 1995 catalog were not the first raised about this handsome portrait. Despite Sir Kenneth Clark’s enthusiastic endorsement and the painting’s clear relationship to Rembrandt’s portrait style of the mid-1650s, Horst Gerson postulated in 1969 that A Woman Holding a Pink was executed by an artist trained by Rembrandt rather than by the master himself. He wrote: “Its solid structure combined with a smooth surface . . . are more characteristic of the school of Rembrandt than of the master himself. It could be a work of Bol or Maes.”
Aside from his concerns about the relative smoothness of the modeling, Gerson was skeptical of the authenticity of the signature and date. Technical examination, however, has found no evidence that they are later additions. Moreover, the handwriting of the letters in Rembrandt’s name is consistent with those of other signatures on paintings from the mid-1650s.
The many compelling visual and stylistic connections between these two paintings are now far more evident than they were in 1995 because Portrait of a Lady with an Ostrich-Feather Fan also underwent conservation treatment in recent years.
The removal of thick, discolored layers of varnish has also revealed striking similarities in the handling of flesh tones in these two works that had previously been obscured. The women’s hands are extremely close in character, not only in their shapes, but also in the freely brushed modeling of their forms that consists of a rich overlay of colors, some smoothly and some roughly applied. Comparable approaches to modeling also exist in the women’s faces. Much as in the hands, the flesh tones in the faces consist of a subtle array of ochers, pinks, and whites that are brushed in complex layers. Accents on the foreheads of each woman are modeled with carefully brushed parallel strokes. Instead of what appeared to be a rather bland application of paint, the face of A Woman Holding a Pink has an engaging visual richness consistent with Rembrandt’s manner.
Despite the compelling similarities in these two portraits, certain differences do exist in the definition of the women’s features, which are more robustly defined in Portrait of a Lady with an Ostrich-Feather Fan than in A Woman Holding a Pink. The distinctions are partially due to different physiognomies, but also to the softer light that plays over the woman's face in A Woman Holding a Pink as she gazes directly at the viewer rather than in the direction of her mate. The relatively soft modeling of her form, consistent with the classicism of the image, is also evident in the X-radiographs [see
Although the young woman has a quietly restrained pose, she has slightly turned her body in space, resting one arm on a carpeted table and the other on her chair. As she sits in this dignified yet relaxed manner, she delicately holds in her right hand a pink carnation, a flower that is often associated with the sacrament of marriage.
Arthur K. Wheelock Jr.
April 24, 2014
Inscription
upper right: Rembrandt. / f.1656
Provenance
Pierre Crozat [1665-1740], Paris, before 1740; by inheritance to his nephews, first to Louis-François Crozat, marquis du Châtel [1691-1750], Paris, and then [on Louis-François' death without a male heir] to Louis-Antoine Crozat, baron de Thiers [1699-1770], Paris; the latter's heirs; purchased 1772, through Denis Diderot [1713-1784] as an intermediary, by Catherine II, empress of Russia [1729-1796], for the Imperial Hermitage Gallery, Saint Petersburg; sold March 1931, as a painting by Rembrandt, through (Matthiesen Gallery, Berlin; P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London; and M. Knoedler & Co., New York) to Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; deeded 30 March 1932 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1937 to NGA.
Associated Names
Catherine II of RussiaColnaghi & Co., Ltd., P. & D.
Crozat the Younger, Pierre
Crozat, baron de Thiers, Louis-Antoine
Crozat, marquis du Châtel, Louis-François
Diderot, Denis
Knoedler & Company, M.
Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, The A.W.
Mellon, Andrew W.
State Hermitage Museum
The Matthiesen Gallery
Exhibition History
- 1969
- Rembrandt in the National Gallery of Art [Commemorating the Tercentenary of the Artist's Death], National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1969, no. 16, repro.
Technical Summary
The support, a tightly woven, fine-weight fabric, has been lined with the tacking margins trimmed. Cusping is visible along all edges in the X-radiographs, indicating the original dimensions have been retained. The painting was prepared with a double ground consisting of a brown, quartz-type lower layer, followed by a yellow layer.[1]
The paint is a mixture of layers of paste consistency and glazes, worked both wet-into-wet and wet–over-dry with low brushmarking.[2] The background layer extends under the figure, which was initially sketched in broad brushstrokes. The hands, face, and tablecloth are thickly painted and finished with transparent glazes. Some texture has been lost by lining. Scattered minor losses have been retouched as have losses along the edges. The background and the figure’s dress are moderately abraded. The painting was treated in 2007-2008 to remove discolored varnish and inpainting and to inpaint the abrasion.
[1] The ground was analyzed by Karin Groen using cross-sections and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (see Karin Groen, "Grounds in Rembrandt’s Workshop and in Paintings by His Contemporaries," in Stichting Foundation Rembrandt Research Project, A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings, vol. 4, Self-Portraits, ed. Ernst van de Wetering (Dordrecht, 2005), 666–667).
[2] The paint layers were analyzed by the NGA Scientific Research department using cross-section and polarized light microscopy (see report dated November 4, 2010, in NGA Conservation department files).
Bibliography
- 1755
- La Curne de Sainte-Palaye, Jean-Baptiste. Catalogue des tableaux du cabinet de M. Crozat, baron de Thiers. Paris, 1755: 32.
- 1773
- Imperial Hermitage Museum [probably Ernst von Münnich, ed.] "Catalogue raisonné des tableaux qui se trouvent dans les Galeries, Sallons et Cabinets du Palais Impérial de S. Pétersbourg, commencé en 1773 et continué jusqu’en 1785.” 3 vols. Manuscript, Fund 1, Opis’ VI-A, delo 85, Hermitage Archives, Saint Petersburg,1773-1783 (vols. 1-2), 1785 (vol. 3): probably no. 1722, as Portrait d'une jeune femme.
- 1774
- Imperial Hermitage Museum [probably Ernst von Münnich, ed.]. Catalogue des tableaux qui se trouvent dans les Cabinets du Palais Impérial à Saint-Pétersbourg. Based on the 1773 manuscript catalogue. Saint Petersburg, 1774: probably no. 1722, as Portrait d'une jeune femme.
- 1829
- Smith, John. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters. 9 vols. London, 1829-1842: 7(1836):171, no. 537.
- 1838
- Imperial Hermitage Museum. Livret de la Galérie Impériale de l'Ermitage de Saint Petersbourg. Saint Petersburg, 1838: 122, no. 10.
- 1863
- Köhne, Baron Bernhard de. Ermitage Impérial, Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. Saint Petersburg, 1863: 173-174, no. 819.
- 1864
- Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Die Gemäldesammlung in der kaiserlichen Ermitage zu St. Petersburg nebst Bemerkungen über andere dortige Kunstsammlungen. Munich, 1864: 183, no. 819.
- 1868
- Vosmaer, Carel. Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn, sa vie et ses œuvres. The Hague, 1868: 489.
- 1870
- Köhne, Baron Bernhard de. Ermitage Impérial: Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 3 vols. 2nd ed. Saint Petersburg, 1870: 2:139, no. 819.
- 1872
- Massaloff, Nicolas. Les Rembrandt de l’Ermitage Impérial de Saint-Pétersbourg. Leipzig, 1872: 75, engraved repro. 29.
- 1879
- Ris, Comte Louis Clement de. "Musée Impérial de l’Ermitage à Saint-Pétersbourg (last of 4 articles)." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 20 (November 1879): 382.
- 1883
- Bode, Wilhelm von. Studien zur Geschichte der holländischen Malerei. Braunschweig, 1883: 602, no. 341.
- 1885
- Dutuit, Eugène. Tableaux et dessins de Rembrandt: catalogue historique et descriptif; supplément à l'Oeuvre complet de Rembrandt. Paris, 1885: 39, 63, 69, no. 328.
- 1886
- Wurzbach, Alfred von. Rembrandtgalerie. Stuttgart, 1886: 88, no. 414.
- 1893
- Michel, Émile. Rembrandt: Sa vie, son oeuvre et son temps. Paris, 1893: 416, 567.
- 1894
- Michel, Émile. Rembrandt: His Life, His Work, and His Time. 2 vols. Translated by Florence Simmonds. New York, 1894: 2:97-98, 246.
- 1895
- Somov, Andrei Ivanovich. Ermitage Impérial: Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 2 vols. 3rd ed. Saint Petersburg, 1895: 2:289, no. 819.
- 1897
- Bode, Wilhelm von, and Cornelis Hofstede de Groot. The Complete Work of Rembrandt. 8 vols. Translated by Florence Simmonds. Paris, 1897-1906: 6:22, 138, no. 453, repro.
- 1899
- Bell, Malcolm. Rembrandt van Rijn and His Work. London, 1899: 181, 189, no. 819.
- 1901
- Somov, Andrei Ivanovich. Ermitage Impérial: Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 2 vols. 4th ed. Saint Petersburg, 1901: 2:325, no. 819.
- 1902
- Neumann, Carl. Rembrandt. Berlin, 1902: 430-431, repro. 104.
- 1904
- Rosenberg, Adolf. Rembrandt: des Meisters Gemälde. Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben 2. Stuttgart, 1904: 206, repro.
- 1906
- Rosenberg, Adolf. Rembrandt, des Meisters Gemälde. Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben 2. 2nd ed. Stuttgart, 1906: repro. 310, 402.
- 1906
- Wurzbach, Alfred von. Niederlandisches Kunstler-Lexikon. 3 vols. Vienna, 1906-1911: 2(1910):409.
- 1907
- Bell, Malcolm. Rembrandt van Rijn. The great masters in painting and sculpture. London, 1907: 152.
- 1907
- Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century. 8 vols. Translated by Edward G. Hawke. London, 1907-1927: 6(1916):402, no. 878.
- 1907
- Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten holländischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts. 10 vols. Esslingen and Paris, 1907-1928: 6(1915):363-364, no. 878.
- 1907
- Rosenberg, Adolf. The Work of Rembrandt, reproduced in over five hundred illustrations. Classics in Art 2. New York, 1907: 310, repro.
- 1908
- Rosenberg, Adolf. Rembrandt, des Meisters Gemälde. Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben 2. 3rd ed. Stuttgart and Berlin, 1908: repro. 439, 563.
- 1909
- Rosenberg, Adolf. Rembrandt: Des Meisters Gemälde. Edited by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben 2. Stuttgart and Leipzig, 1909: repro. 439, 563.
- 1909
- Wrangell, Baron Nicolas. Les Chefs-d’Oeuvre de la Galérie de Tableaux de l’Ermitage Impérial à St. Pétersbourg. London, 1909: xxx, repro. 129.
- 1913
- Rosenberg, Adolf. The Work of Rembrandt, reproduced in over five hundred illustrations. Classics in Art 2. 2nd ed. New York, 1913: repro. 439.
- 1918
- Wrangell, Baron Nicolas. Die Meisterwerke der Gemälde-Galerie in der Ermitage zu St. Petersburg. Edited by Georg Korczewski. 2nd ed. Munich, 1918: xxx, repro 129.
- 1919
- Bode, Wilhelm von. Die Meister der holländischen und vlämischen Malerschulen. 2nd ed. Leipzig, 1919: 30, repro.
- 1920
- Errera, Isabelle. Répertoire des peintures datées. 2 vols. Bruxelles and Paris, 1920-1921: 1(1920):286.
- 1921
- Rosenberg, Adolf. The Work of Rembrandt. Edited by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Classics in Art 2. 3rd ed. New York, 1921: 439, repro.
- 1921
- Valentiner, Wilhelm R. Rembrandt: wiedergefundene Gemälde (1910-1922). Klassiker der Kunst in Gesamtausgaben 27. Stuttgart and Berlin, 1921: 439, repro.
- 1922
- Neumann, Carl. Rembrandt. 2 vols. Revised ed. Munich, 1922: 2:125.
- 1923
- Meldrum, David S. Rembrandt’s Painting, with an Essay on His Life and Work. New York, 1923: 138-139, 200, pl. 359.
- 1923
- Weiner, Peter Paul von. Meisterwerke der Gemäldesammlung in der Eremitage zu Petrograd. Revised ed. Munich, 1923: 148, repro.
- 1923
- Weiner, Pierre Paul von. Les chefs-d'oeuvre de la Galerie de tableaux de L'Ermitage à Petrograd. Les Chefs-d'Oeuvres des Galeries Principaux de L'Europe 8. Revised ed. Munich, 1923: repro.
- 1935
- Bredius, Abraham. Rembrandt Gemälde, 630 Abbildungen. Vienna, 1935: no. 390, repro.
- 1935
- Bredius, Abraham. Rembrandt Schilderijen, 630 Afbeeldingen. Utrecht, 1935: no. 390, repro.
- 1936
- Bredius, Abraham. The Paintings of Rembrandt. New York, 1936: no. 390, repro.
- 1937
- Cortissoz, Royal. An Introduction to the Mellon Collection. Boston, 1937: 39.
- 1941
- National Gallery of Art. Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. Washington, 1941: 165, no. 75.
- 1942
- Book of Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 240, repro. 30.
- 1942
- Bredius, Abraham. The Paintings of Rembrandt. 2 vols. Translated by John Byam Shaw. Oxford, 1942: 1:22, no. 390; 2:repro.
- 1943
- Benesch, Otto. "The Rembrandt Paintings in the National Gallery of Art." The Art Quarterly 6, no. 1 (Winter 1943): 27-28, 33 fig. 12.
- 1949
- National Gallery of Art. Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection. Washington, 1949 (reprinted 1953 and 1958): 86, repro.
- 1960
- Roger-Marx, Claude. Rembrandt. Translated by W.J. Strachan and Peter Simmons. New York, 1960: 64, 305, no. 131, repro.
- 1962
- Boeck, Wilhelm. Rembrandt. Stuttgart, 1962: 87.
- 1963
- Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 313, repro.
- 1965
- National Gallery of Art. Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. Washington, 1965: 109.
- 1966
- Bauch, Kurt. Rembrandt Gemälde. Berlin, 1966: 26, no. 515, repro.
- 1966
- Clark, Kenneth. Rembrandt and the Italian Renaissance. New York, 1966: 127, 130, fig. 120.
- 1968
- National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 96, no. 75, repro.
- 1968
- Stuffmann, Margret. "Les tableaux de la collection de Pierre Crozat." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 72 (July-September 1968): 11-143, no. 372, repro.
- 1969
- Bredius, Abraham. Rembrandt: The Complete Edition of the Paintings. Revised by Horst Gerson. 3rd ed. London, 1969: repro. 304, 581, no. 390.
- 1969
- National Gallery of Art. Rembrandt in the National Gallery of Art: Commemorating the tercentenary of the artist's death. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1969: 7, 26, no. 16, repro.
- 1972
- La Curne de Sainte-Palaye, Jean-Baptiste de. Catalogue des Tableaux du Cabinet de Crozat, Baron de Thiers. Reprint of the 1755 ed. Geneva, 1972: 32.
- 1974
- Slive, Seymour. "Dutch School." In European Paintings in the Collection of the Worcester Art Museum. Edited by Louisa Dresser. 2 vols. Worcester, 1974: 1:113.
- 1974
- Slive, Seymour. "Dutch School." In European Paintings in the Collection of the Worcester Art Museum. Edited by Louisa Dresser. 2 vols. Worcester, 1974: 1:113.
- 1975
- National Gallery of Art. European paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. Washington, 1975: 284, no. 75, repro.
- 1975
- Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 279, no. 367, color repro.
- 1976
- Watering, Willem L. van de. "On Jacob van Loo’s Portrait of a Young Woman." The Minneapolis Institute of Arts Bulletin 63 (1976–1977): 38, fig. 3.
- 1977
- Bolten, J., and H. Bolten-Rempt. The Hidden Rembrandt. Translated by Danielle Adkinson. Milan and Chicago, 1977: 197, no. 452, repro.
- 1984
- Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 279, no. 361, color repro., as by Rembrandt van Ryn.
- 1985
- National Gallery of Art. European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. Washington, 1985: 329, repro.
- 1991
- Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 91, 93, color repro.
- 1995
- Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1995: 321-326, color repro. 323.
- 2000
- Il'in, Nikolas, and Natalia Semënova. Prodannye sokrovishcha Rossii [Sold Treasures of Russia]. Moscow, 2000: 132-133, repro.
- 2006
- Rønberg, Lene Bøgh, and Eva de la Fuente Pedersen. Rembrandt?: The Master and His Workshop. Exh. cat. Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, 2006: 250, repro.
- 2009
- Odom, Anne, and Wendy R. Salmond, eds. Treasures into Tractors: The Selling of Russia's Cultural Heritage, 1918-1938. Washington, D.C., 2009: 135 n. 62.
- 2011
- Fiedler, Susanne, and Torsten Knuth. "Vexierbilder einer Biographie: Dr. Heinz Mansfeld (1899-1959)." Mecklenburgische Jahrbücher 126 (2011):308.
- 2016
- Jaques, Susan. The Empress of Art: Catherine the Great and the Transformation of Russia. New York, 2016: 397.
- 2016
- Wecker, Menachem. "Famed Arts Patron Catherine the Great had Many Lovers, But She was a Prude." Washington Post 139, no. 120 (April 3, 2016): E2, repro.
Related Content
Related Terms
- 11L5413
- original sin
- 11P23
- Roman Catholicism
- 22C91
- half-light
- 25G21
- apple
- 25G41
- used symbolically
- 42D
- marriage
- 48A91
- classicism
- 48B
- artist +Jacobus Leveck
- 48B11
- studio
- 61B1
- portraiture
- 73D6
- Crucifixion
