Rembrandt van Rijn

In the lower left corner of this unfinished etching, an artist, presumably Rembrandt himself, sits on a low chair and sketches from a nude female model. This is not an accurate representation of Rembrandt’s own studio, but rather an imagined scenario through which viewers learn to respect the young artist by observing his diligent nighttime labor. The nude model emerges from this dark space as both a subject and a source of inspiration, and the palm frond in her hand may signify the fame to which the artist aspires. Despite Rembrandt’s well-documented practice of working with nude models, this female figure is not drawn from life, but adapted from a famous allegorical image of Fame in an engraving by the 15th-century Italian Renaissance artist Jacopo de’ Barbari. This subtle reference reveals the variety of “models” a master artist might employ. The print’s unfinished state suggests that the process of creation is ongoing and that other sources may yet contribute before Rembrandt’s blank canvas, seen in the background, is filled.