Saskia van Eilenburh, the youngest daughter of a wealthy family, could live a very ordinary life, and today, after almost four centuries, no one would remember her name. So it would be, did not meet Saskia Rembrandt van Rijn. Today, her many images are known to every admirer of painting. From this article you can find out the biography of the artist’s wife and see the most famous portraits of Saskia painted by Rembrandt.
Early biography
Saskia van Eilenburh was born on August 2, 1612 in Leeuwarden (Netherlands), in the family of the mayor, lawyer and wealthy townsman Rombertus van Eilenburh. She was the youngest of the four daughters of Eilenburh, and the family also had four more sons. The mother of the family died of tuberculosis in 1619, when Saskia was only 7 years old. Five years later, his father died. All worries about the family fell on older children, in fact, in their youth, sisters and brothers replaced the girl's parents. A portrait of Rembrandt's future wife, Saskia, is presented below.
Meet Rembrandt
In 1633, the 21-year-old Saskia came to Amsterdam to stay with her cousin Althier van Eilenburh. Saskia’s future husband, Rembrandt van Rijn, knew two girl’s close friends at once: her cousin Hendrik, who lived there and engaged in the sale of paintings, and her husband Althier, preacher Johann Cornelis Silvius, whom van Rijn once depicted in engraving. The future spouses had already heard about each other personally, had a chance at home at Hendrick van Eilenburh - there Rembrandt rented a room at that time, and Saskia just came to visit her cousin.
Marriage and family life
On June 8, 1633, Rembrandt and Saskia became bride and groom, and a year later, on June 22, 1634, they got married. Below is a self-portrait of the artist, made in the year of marriage.
In 1639, the Van Rijn couple moved to their own home on Sint Antonisbrestrat Street in Amsterdam, which Rembrandt purchased on credit. At the beginning of her family life, Saskia gave birth to three children - the son of Rombert and two daughters, named Cornelius, but not one child did not live a month. Finally, in 1641, Titus van Rijn was born, who, like Saskia, became the hero of many of Rembrandt’s paintings. Below you can see a photo of the painting “Portrait of Titus’s son in a red beret”.
Death
Finally, the spouses had a house and a long-awaited child, however, Saskia's body, broken by her worries and severely endured by her last pregnancy, was finally broken by a tuberculosis infection caught up. She died from him on June 14, 1642, less than two months before reaching her thirtieth birthday. An interesting fact is one of the points of Saskia’s will, which said: “In the case of the re-marriage of the widower of Van Rijn, the enormous fortune of his deceased wife, bequeathed to his son Titus, is transferred to the disposal of one of the Van Eilenburch sisters.” Because of this, after 12 years, Rembrandt was unable to legitimize relations with his last lover Hendrikie Stoffels.
Sketches and sketches depicting Saskia
In addition to the large number of paintings by Rembrandt with Saskia depicted on them, his simple images of his wife, made in pencil, are of great interest to researchers of the life and work of the great artist.
He made them for a commemorative sketch or subsequent transfer to the canvas. Such are, for example, “Portrait of Saskia the Bride” (1633), “Saskia with a pearl in her hair” (1634), “Four sketches of Saskia” (1635), “Saskia in the image of St. Catherine” (1638).
Engraving "Self Portrait with Saskia"
The only family portrait of the Van Rijn couple is an engraving done by Rembrandt in 1636. The plot canvas "The Prodigal Son in the Tavern", which will be discussed later, is not taken into account, since it, nevertheless, is not related to the personal life of the artist and his wife.
This engraving, on the contrary, is an everyday perpetuation of the moment of their unity, created not for art, but for memory. The engraving image of Saskia and Rembrandt in the photo is presented above.
"The Prodigal Son in the Tavern"
This famous painting, also known as the "Portrait of Rembrandt with Saskia on her lap", was painted by the artist in 1635. As the plot for this canvas, he chose the biblical parable of the prodigal son. He portrayed himself as a son, who was parting in a tavern, and Saskia as a harlot. The rich outfits that Rembrandt put on his heroes correspond to the time modern for the artist, and not the biblical years. Therefore, the picture is not an illustration, but only conveys the meaning of the parable.
Interestingly, the original version of the canvas was larger, and, in addition to Saskia on Rembrandt's lap, other characters were present. However, after the death of his wife, the artist cut off the canvas on his own, leaving only himself and her in the picture.
"Portrait of Saskia in an Arcadian costume"
Most of the portraits of Saskia Rembrandt created in the first years of their family life. This incredibly tender work, depicting the artist’s wife in a mythical outfit of the inhabitants of Greek Arcadia, was completed in 1635, the second in their family life. In the portrait, Saskia smiles gently and absently looks to the side, with one hand she holds flowers, with the other - rests on a wooden staff, twined with a weaving plant.
Obviously, at the time of writing the picture, Saskia was in one of the last months of pregnancy. She could not even think that the baby would not live a month, and therefore her face is radiated with joyful expectation and tenderness.
"Minerva in his office"
In the same 1935, Rembrandt depicts Saskia in the image of Minerva, sitting in front of a large open book at a table in her office. The ancient Roman goddess of wisdom, science and inventions, Minerva was a fairly popular and beloved heroine of the plots of classic artists of the XVI-XVIII centuries. So Rembrandt decided to write a portrait of the goddess, with the face, of course, of his beautiful and wise wife.
The most common attribute of Minerva in painting and sculpture is the helmet of the Roman legionnaire, crowning her head and personifying her also as the goddess of war. However, Rembrandt in his painting decided to avoid this stamp and crowned his wife's head with a laurel wreath. Finishing work on the canvas, he nevertheless wrote a helmet, but placed it behind the back of the goddess, next to the spear and shield. Over a rich silk dress, similar in color to an Arcadian costume, a rich golden cloak, a symbol of Roman rulers, falls from the shoulders of Saskia-Minerva.
"Portrait of Saskia in a red hat"
Another famous portrait of Saskia Rembrandt painted in 1634, even before their marriage. The working name of the canvas sounded like "The bride of the artist in a red hat." In this picture, Saskia is still girlishly slim, her face is restrained and calm, and her posture hints at her willingness to change her status and go to meet adult life.
A rich red velvet dress and the same hat, a huge amount of jewelry, a fur cape - all this is demonstrated by the outfit of a rich Dutch woman. That is exactly what Saskia looked like in everyday life. Her outfits were distinguished by the high cost of materials and the magnificence of cut, and both hands were always hung with gold and silver bracelets.
Saskia in the image of Flora
Rembrandt was very fond of portraying his wife in the image of the ancient Roman goddess Flora - a symbol of spring, flowers, wild fruits and plants. Saskia in the image of Flora, surrounded by flowers, is present on at least three paintings of the artist. Rembrandt wrote the first of them back in 1633, when Saskia was his bride. On it, the girl is depicted in close-up - she is turned to face the viewer and looks at him with a thoughtful smile. Her head is decorated with an elegant translucent shawl, over which Flora's floral wreath is worn.
For unknown reasons, the original picture was not preserved. There is only a copy of the painting, made by Govert Flink - a contemporary of Rembrandt. He even copied the signature of the original author and the year of writing.
The second most famous of the portraits of Saskia in the image of Flora Rembrandt van Rijn was painted in 1634, after their wedding. The picture is similar to "Portrait of Saskia in an Arcadian costume," since the artist’s spouse is likely pregnant on both. But in the image of Flora, her stomach is still not too prominent, and Saskia modestly covers him with the part of the dress falling from the back. On the head of the goddess is a lush wreath of wildflowers and needles, and in the hand again a staff, also entwined with flowers. Saskia's hair is beautifully loose, her eyes are scattered, a gentle smile wanders on her face.
Art historians and researchers of Rembrandt’s work believe that in this picture he portrayed his wife at the peak of his greatest feelings for her. Therefore, Saskia Flora turned out to be so magnificent, vibrant and beautiful. You can see the canvas in the Hermitage.
The third portrait depicting Rembrandt's wife in the image of Flora was painted in 1641, shortly after the birth of their only surviving child - the son of Titus. Saskia’s gaze was no longer scattered and cheerful on him - this Flora was staring at the viewer, and in her eyes there was a sadness of loss and worry. However, a gentle smile still testifies to the finally acquired happiness of motherhood. Saskia is depicted in her usual clothes, she has the usual jewelry, and her head is not decorated with a floral wreath. Only a small red daisy, which a woman hands out to the viewer, remains from Flora's previous image. And in general, to guess that Flora is in the picture is possible only by name. For this reason, the picture is also distributed under another name - "Saskia with a red flower."
Many consider the picture prophetic. The path from Saskia-Flora, written during the first pregnancy, to this one that has experienced sorrow and loss in just the past seven years, as if reflected in the symbol of a flower - the only one left from the former magnificent wreath-bouquet. And this flower Saskiah does not lean against her hair, but shows the viewer as if about to give. Since flowers are a symbol of life, many consider the daisy given to them to be the very last year until Saskia's untimely death, because the painting was painted in 1641.
It was said above about three canvases, but there is another picture of Rembrandt called "Flora". He wrote it in 1654, but did not indicate in the title who the prototype is, and the opinions of modern art historians on this issue differ. Someone claims that on this canvas, in the image of Flora, Hendrickier Stoffels is depicted. Indeed, this year she was pregnant from Rembrandt, and he officially began to live with her. Others claim that this is the artist’s previous lover - Gertier Dirks, but the version is meaningless, because they broke up with the scandal, and he would hardly begin to draw it.
A completely different matter is the main love of the artist’s life, the first and only wife with whom he parted not of his own will, not wanting it at all. Comparison of portraits of Saskia, Gertier and Hendrikier, obviously, is likely to favor the only legitimate Mrs. van Rijn, whose widower Rembrandt remained until the end of his life.
But what could prompt an artist starting a family life with a new woman to write a posthumous portrait of her former lover? Flora, depicted in profile, holds a handful of acorns in his hand - a symbol of truth and prosperity. Rembrandt, based on the will of the deceased wife, knew very well that she did not want his remarriage. Perhaps, with this painting, again raising Saskia to the image of the goddess, the artist tried to ask her for forgiveness and blessing to create a new family.