Head of an Old Woman: Rembrandt’sMotherca. 1628

Jan Lievens(Leiden 1607 – 1674 Amsterdam)

colored laid paper

red and black chalk on yellow-hued, buff10.8 x 8.5 cm
collector’s mark, lower left: “P.H.”
JL-103© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Head of an Old Woman: Rembrandt’s Mother
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How To Cite
Schatborn, Peter. "Head of an Old Woman: Rembrandt’s Mother." In The Leiden Collection Catalogue.
Edited by Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. New York, 2017.
https://www.theleidencollection.com/archive/.
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© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Head of an Old Woman: Rembrandt’s Mother
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With an intense gaze animating her stern visage, this elderly woman withComparative Figures

pointed nose, square jaw, and pursed lips seems formidable even given
the small scale of the sheet of paper on which she is drawn. Jan Lievens
has rendered the ample headdress covering her hair and the heavy
apparel over her shoulders that shield her body from the viewer’s eyeswith quick and supple lines of red and black chalk, but he has taken an
entirely different approach for the expressive face that leans forward
toward the viewer. Thin, delicately rendered lines define the woman’sfeatures and the wrinkles of age that cross her forehead, circle her eyes,and draw the mouth down to its create its serious and uncompromising
expression.

Fig 1. Jan Lievens, Old
Woman Reading, ca. 1625, 81 x69 cm, Rijksmuseum,Amsterdam, SK-A-4702

The attribution of this compelling drawing has been the subject of debate
for many years. It was formerly attributed to Nicolaes Maes (1634–93), apupil of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–69) in the late 1640s and early 1650s.
In 1980, however, Sumowski ascribed it, with reservation, to Gerrit Dou(1613–75), during the period that Dou was studying with Rembrandt inLeiden (1625–31). Sumowski’s association of the drawing with works
created in Leiden during those years is correct, but the style of the drawing
is consistent with Jan Lievens, not Dou. Reinforcing an attribution toLievens is the direct correspondence that exists between this figure andthe model for the prophetess Anna in his painting Old Woman Reading,ca. 1625 (fig 1).[1] Anna wears a similar headdress, which falls loosely
over her shoulders, and has similar facial features: a slightly pointed nose,a wrinkled face and forehead, and thin lips that hang down at theFig 2. Jan Lievens, Bust of an
Old Man, ca. 1628, red and blackchalk, 137 x 116 mm, PrivateCollection, The Hague

corners.[2] The model, evidently a woman from the artists’ circle, has often
been identified as Rembrandt’s mother, but this identification isuncertain.[3]When Rembrandt and Lievens were working in Leiden, they both madedrawings in red and black chalk, sometimes on yellowish, light-brown,
prepared paper. This technique, which they adopted from their teacher,
Pieter Lastman (1583–1633), can be seen in Lastman’s drawings from theearly 1620s, which include several preparatory studies for paintings.[4]Head of an Old Woman is also executed on this paper, as is anotherdrawing by Lievens, Bust of an Old Man (fig 2), which has a drapery
study on its verso.[5]An excellent example of Rembrandt’s manner of drawing during the lateFig 3. Rembrandt van Rijn,
Seated Old Man with a Book,
1628, red and black chalk,heightened with white, on
yellowish, light-brown paper, 296© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Head of an Old Woman: Rembrandt’s Mother
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1620s that offers a point of comparison with Lievens’s drawing technique
is his Seated Old Man with a Book , which he drew in red and black chalk,x 211 mm, Staatliche Museen,Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin, inv.
KdZ 5284

heightened with white, on yellowish, light-brown, prepared paper (fig 3).[6]The drawing served as a preparatory study for the figure of Peter in themaster’s Peter and Paul Disputing, a painting in Melbourne dated ca.
1628.[7] Despite the importance of line in this drawing, it is executed more
tonally than is Lievens’s drawing. Lievens’s line plays a more independentrole, is more descriptive in character, and is rather decorative, particularlyin the rendering of clothing. It is not as essential to the design, nor does it
create the consistent lighting effects or plasticity seen in Rembrandt’sdrawing style.
Lievens’s linear style is also encountered in other drawings (and prints)from his Leiden period, such as Old Woman in Half-Length Profile, Facing
Left in Boston.[8] As in Head of an Old Woman , in the Boston drawing
Lievens has used a network of fine lines to depict the facial features (as hedid in Bust of an Old Man ), and in both works he has accentuated thecontour of the woman’s headdress above her forehead. The linear,descriptive character of the features can also be seen in one of Lievens’s
most Rembrandtesque drawings, Bearded Old Man in Profile inWashington.[9]The place of Head of an Old Woman in Lievens’s oeuvre can be
hypothesized by comparing it with Rembrandt’s comparable studies.
Rembrandt’s portrait drawing of an old woman in Ulm, executed in penand brush,[10] may have originated in the same period as the two etchedportraits he made of his “mother” of 1628.[11] It seems likely that Lievens’sdrawing should be dated to approximately the same time, around 1628,
the year in which Rembrandt also executed his Seated Old Man with aBook.
-Peter Schatborn© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Head of an Old Woman: Rembrandt’s Mother
Page 5 of 9Endnotes
1. Christiaan Vogelaar and Gerbrand Korevaar, eds., Rembrandt’s Mother: Myth and Reality(Exh. cat. Leiden, Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal) (Leiden and Zwolle, 2005), no. 2, repro.,
dated ca. 1625–26; Holm Bevers, ed., Drawings by Rembrandt and His Pupils: Telling theDifference (Exh. cat. Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum) (Los Angeles, 2009), 50, fig. 1b.
2. We encounter the same model in a painting in Dresden, which Sumowski considers a copy
after Lievens (and dates to 1629), though Kurt Bauch and Bernhard Schnackenburg see it
as an original by the artist. See Kurt Bauch, “Zum Werk des Jan Lievens (I),” Pantheon 25(1967): 266, fig. 25; and Werner Sumowski, Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler in vierBänden, 6 vols. (Landau, 1983), 3: no. 1272. Kindly communicated by BernhardSchnackenburg.
3. Sumowski observes that a similar old woman wearing the same kind of headdress occurs in
two paintings that Rembrandt made in 1626: Tobit and Anna with a Kid (oil on panel, 40.1 x
29.9 cm., Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv. no. A 4717) and Musical Company (oil on panel,
63.4 x 47.6 cm., Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv. no. A 4674) (Stichting Foundation
Rembrandt Research Project, A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings , vol. 1, 1625–1631, ed.
Josua Bruyn et al. [The Hague, Boston, and London, 1982], no. A 3, repro., and no. A 3,repro., respectively).
4. Astrid Tümpel, Christian Tümpel, and Peter Schatborn, Pieter Lastman: The Man WhoTaught Rembrandt (Exh. cat. Amsterdam, Museum het Rembrandthuis) (Amsterdam, 1991),nos. 30–33, repro.; Christian Tico Seifert, Pieter Lastman (Petersberg, 2011), 177–215.
5. Recently the verso of that drawing was attributed to Lastman, but that attribution cannot becorrect since its style differs from Lastman’s red-chalk drawings, which are less linear incharacter. See Christian Tico Seifert, Pieter Lastman (Petersberg, 2011), 229, fig. 253.
6. Otto Benesch, The Drawings of Rembrandt, ed. Eva Benesch, 6 vols. (London and NewYork, 1973), 1: no. 7, fig. 12; Holm Bevers, Rembrandt: Die Zeichnungen im Berliner
Kupferstichkabinet (Ostfildern, 2006), no. 1, repro.
7. Panel, 72.3 x 59.5 cm, formerly dated 1628, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, cat.
1961, no. 349/4; Rembrandt Research Project, A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings, vol. 1,1625–1631, ed. Josua Bruyn et al. (The Hague, Boston, and London, 1982), no. A 13.
8. Pen and brown ink, touches of gray wash, over traces of black chalk, 147 x 132 mm, Maidaand George Abrams Collection. Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered , ed. Arthur K.
Wheelock Jr. (Exh. cat. Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art; Milwaukee, Milwaukee ArtMuseum; Amsterdam, Museum Het Rembrandthuis) (New Haven, 2008), no. 96, repro.;William W. Robinson and Peter Sutton, Drawings by Rembrandt, His Students and Circle
from the Maida and George Abrams Collection (Exh. cat. Greenwich, Bruce Museum)© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Head of an Old Woman: Rembrandt’s Mother
Page 6 of 9(Greenwich, 2011), no. 15, repro., with earlier literature; Gregory Rubinstein, “Brief
Encounter: The Early Drawings of Jan Lievens and Their Relationship with Those ofRembrandt,” Master Drawings 49 (2011): 363–64, ca. 1628.
9. Red chalk with touches of black chalk (recto), with Drapery Study (verso), red chalk, 137 x
138 mm, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., Gift of Mrs. Lessing J. Rosenwald,
1987.20.11. The attribution of this drawing has been a matter of debate over the years. It
was attributed to Rembrandt by Otto Benesch, The Drawings of Rembrandt, ed. EvaBenesch, 6 vols. (London and New York, 1973), 1: no. 42, fig. 47; and Martin RoyaltonKisch, “Drawings by Rembrandt and His Pupils,” Burlington Magazine 153 (February 2011):
100. The attribution to Lievens has been made by Peter Schatborn, ed., Jan Lievens,
1607–1674: Prenten & Tekeningen (Exh. cat. Amsterdam, Museum Het Rembrandthuis)(Amsterdam, 1988), 6; Holm Bevers, ed., Drawings by Rembrandt and His Pupils: Telling
the Difference (Exh. cat. Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum) (Los Angeles, 2009), no. 2.4.,
repro.; and Gregory Rubinstein, “Brief Encounter: The Early Drawings of Jan Lievens andTheir Relationship with Those of Rembrandt,” Master Drawings 49 (2011): 361–63. Thisdrawing probably dates to the early 1630s since it was inspired by figure studies in red chalkby Rembrandt that are dated 1630 and 1631. See Otto Benesch, The Drawings ofRembrandt, ed. Eva Benesch, 6 vols. (London and New York, 1973), 1: nos. 20, 37, and 40.
10. Bust of an Old Woman, pen and brown ink, brown wash, touched with white, 122 x 122 mm,
Ulmermuseum, Ulm, Strölin bequest; Peter Schatborn, ed., Jan Lievens, 1607–1674:
Prenten & Tekeningen (Exh. cat. Amsterdam, Museum Het Rembrandthuis) (Amsterdam,1988), no. 10, repro.
11. Gary Schwartz, The Complete Etchings of Rembrandt: Reproduced in Original Size (NewYork, 1994), B 352 and B 354.

Provenance“P. H.” Collection.
Eugene Rodriguez Collection (his sale, F. Muller, Amsterdam, 21 November 1929, no. 17,
as by Nicolaes Maes).
Bernard Houthakker, Amsterdam (his sale, Sotheby’s Mak van Waay, Amsterdam, 17
November 1975, no. 139, as by Nicolaes Maes).
F. W. A. Knight Collection (his sale, Sotheby Mak van Waay, Amsterdam, 29 October 1979,no. 25, as by Nicolaes Maes).
Jacobus A. Klaver, Amsterdam; by descent to Mrs. M. P. Klaver-Heinkens.
(Sale, Sotheby’s, London, 9 July 2008, no. 27; [Haboldt & Co, Paris].
© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Head of an Old Woman: Rembrandt’s Mother
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From whom acquired by the present owner in 2008.

Exhibition History
Amsterdam, Houthakker Gallery, “Dessins anciens: Français, hollandais, italien exposéschez Bernard Houthakker,” July–August 1952, no. 50 (as by Nicolaes Maes).
Amsterdam, Houthakker Gallery, “Exposition de dessins et eaux-fortes de Rembrandt et deson entourage et quelques tableaux de ses contemporains,” Summer 1956, no. 70 (as byNicolaes Maes).
Amsterdam,Rijksprentenkabinet,“DeverzamelingvanBernard

Houthakker,”

August–November 1964, no. 57 (as by Nicolaes Maes [lent by Bernard Houthakker]).
Amsterdam, Museum Het Rembrandthuis, “Jan Lievens, 1607–1674: Prenten &Tekeningen,” 5 November 1988–8 January 1989, no. 11 [lent by Jacobus A. Klaver].
Leiden, Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal, “Rembrandt en Lievens in Leiden: ‘Een jong en edelschildersduo,’” 4 December 1991–1 March 1992, no. 21 [lent by Jacobus A. Klaver].
Amsterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet, “Tekeningen van oude meesters: De verzameling
Jacobus A. Klaver,” 8 May–25 July 1993, no. 34 [lent by Jacobus A. Klaver].
Kassel, Staatliche Museen Kassel, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Schloss Wilhelmshöhe,“The Mystery of the Young Rembrandt,” 3 November 2001–27 January 2002; Amsterdam,Museum Het Rembrandthuis, 20 February–26 May 2002, no. 20 [lent by Mrs. M. P. KlaverHeinkens].
Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, “Drawings by Rembrandt and His Pupils: Telling theDifference,” 9 December 2009–28 February 2010, no. 1.3 [lent by the present owner].
Norfolk, Virginia, Chrysler Museum of Art, on loan with the permanent collection, August
2010–January 2011 [lent by the present owner].
New York, The Morgan Library and Museum, “Rembrandt’s First Masterpiece,” 3 June–18
September, 2016 [lent by the present owner].

References
Dessins anciens: Français, hollandais, italien exposés chez Bernard Houthakker . Exh. cat.
Amsterdam, Bernard Houthakker Gallery. Amsterdam, 1952, no. 50 (as by Nicolaes Maes).
Exposition de dessins et eaux-fortes de Rembrandt et de son entourage et quelques© 2017 The Leiden Collection

Head of an Old Woman: Rembrandt’s Mother
Page 8 of 9tableaux de ses contemporains. Exh. cat. Amsterdam, Bernard Houthakker Gallery.
Amsterdam, 1956, no. 70 (as by Nicolaes Maes).
Niemeijer, J. W. De verzameling van Bernard Houthakker . Exh. cat. Amsterdam,Rijksprentenkabinet. Amsterdam, 1964, 25–26, no. 57 (as by Nicolaes Maes).
Sumowski, Werner. Drawings of the Rembrandt School. Edited and translated by Walter L.
Strauss. 15 vols. New York, 1979–95, 3:1168, no. 539xx (as attributed to Gerard Dou).
Schatborn, Peter. Dutch Figure Drawings from the Seventeenth Century . Exh. cat.
Amsterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet; Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art. The Hague,
1981, 139, under no. 64.
Schatborn, Peter, ed. Jan Lievens, 1607–1674: Prenten & Tekeningen. Exh. cat.
Amsterdam, Museum Het Rembrandthuis. Amsterdam, 1988, 34–35, no. 11.
Vogelaar, Christiaan, ed. Rembrandt en Lievens in Leiden: “Een jong en edelschildersduo.” Exh. cat. Leiden, Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal. Zwolle and Leiden, 1991,no. 21.
Schapelhouman, Marijn, and Schatborn, Peter. Tekeningen van oude meesters: Deverzameling Jacobus A. Klaver. Exh. cat. Amsterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet. Zwolle, 1993,78–79, 238, no. 34.
De Heer, Ed. In The Mystery of the Young Rembrandt. Edited by Ernst van de Wetering andBernhard Schnackenburg. Exh. cat. Kassel, Staatliche Museen Kassel Gemäldegalerie AlteMeister, Schloss Wilhelmshöhe; Amsterdam, Museum Het Rembrandthuis. Wolfratshausen,2001, 180–81, no. 20.
Vogelaar, Christiaan. In Rembrandt’s Mother: Myth and Reality. Edited by Christiaan
Vogelaar and Gerbrand Korevaar. Exh. cat. Leiden, Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal. Leiden
and Zwolle, 2005, 103, under no. 13, fig. 85.
Rubinstein, Gregory. In Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered. Edited by Arthur K.
Wheelock Jr. Exh. cat. Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art; Milwaukee, Milwaukee ArtMuseum; Amsterdam, Museum Het Rembrandthuis. New Haven, 2008, 233, under no. 95.
Hendrix, Lee. In Drawings by Rembrandt and His Pupils: Telling the Difference. Edited byHolm Bevers. Exh. cat. Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum. Los Angeles, 2009, 48–51, 251,no. 1.3.
Royalton-Kisch, Martin. “From Lievens to Rembrandt.” Master Drawings 48 (2009): 509–11,n. 12.
Royalton-Kisch, Martin. Catalogue of Drawings by Rembrandt and His Pupils in the BritishMuseum. Online catalogue, 2010, under no.73, n. 6.
Royalton-Kisch, Martin. “Drawings by Rembrandt and His Pupils.” Burlington Magazine 153(February 2011): 99–100.
Rubinstein, Gregory. “Brief Encounter: The Early Drawings of Jan Lievens and© 2017 The Leiden CollectionPowered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

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Their Relationship with Those of Rembrandt.” Master Drawings 49 (2011): 358, no. 13.

Technical Summary
The support, a yellow-hued, buff-colored, lightly textured laid paper, has been secured between
a silk mat and a backboard. The support’s tonality is uniform, with the exception of a slightly
lighter circular area above the stamp along the lower left. The composition has been drawn in red
and black chalk. A small smudge in the red chalk along the left side of the lower central area ofthe shadow of the hat, where it meets the figure’s forehead, probably occurred in the working
process. Slight smudging along the upper right corner, in the reserve at the center of the rightside, at the lower right corner, and at the lower left corner are from handling.
The drawing is stamped with initials in an oval cartouche along the lower left.
The drawing has not undergone conservation treatment since acquisition and remains in anexcellent state of preservation.[1]Technical Summary Endnotes

1. Entry based on 2009 examination report by Marjorie Shelley, Sherman FairchildConservator in Charge, Sherman Fairchild Center for Works on Paper and PhotographConservation, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

© 2017 The Leiden Collection