How three women influenced the life of the great Rembrandt: the Goddess, the mistress and the servant

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Rembrandt Van Rijn is one of the most famous artists who literally turned the world of painting upside down. He was loved and admired, he was hated and believed that he was leading a riotous, blasphemous lifestyle. However, like the simplest man, he followed his heart, and in his life he loved three women, which brought him joy, sadness, troubles and, of course, inspiration.

Saskia van Eilenbürch

This woman had a very remarkable appearance: large, expressive eyes at a great distance from each other, a rounded chin, lush, curly hair that looked more like bird feathers in its softness. In her portraits, she was portrayed with a slightly condescending, soft smile, which was often called timid and indecisive.

Saskia was the youngest daughter of a burgomaster from Leeuwarden, and would later become the beloved wife of an artist from Leiden, Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rijn.

In one of the portraits, she is depicted with a small chamomile flower, which at the time testified to fidelity and devotion in marriage. This meant not only her love for the artist, but also chastity in everything she did, with a slight touch of seduction.

It is curious that they lived in different regions of the Netherlands: he is in the south, and she is in the deep north. She is a purebred, albeit not the most eminent noblewoman, and Van Rhine is the son of a miller, who, after his activity fell into decay, traded not even flour, but malt. How did they manage to get to know each other?

It happened in the city of Amsterdam, where the artist went for fame and recognition, and the young girl went to visit her closest relatives. At the time when life pushed them together, Saskia was already an orphan: she lost both of her parents a few years before their fateful meeting. Her mother died when the girl was barely seven years old, and her father a little later, when Saskia celebrated her twelve years old. Her family was quite large: she had as many as eight brothers and sisters, and at least three of them were alive at the time of her meeting with the artist. They were delighted to receive their sister, who was incredibly meek and obedient.

Saskia wandered between the homes of her brothers, sisters, and also cousins. There she did not sit idly by, but helped them with the housework, did household chores. Rembrandt, on the other hand, had a friendship with her uncle, Hendrik van Eilenbürch, who was reputed to be a successful and very wealthy merchant who was engaged in works of art of the so-called Golden Age.

Hendrik got a job as an artist in the city of Amsterdam after returning from Poland, where he and his family were forced to flee to escape religious persecution. He opened a studio that soon became quite popular, where he painted his works, and also recruited masters, whose works he later sold. Around 1631, Rembrandt also came to his workshop, whom Hendrik, being a skilled merchant, used in his business to enrich himself.

Van Eilenbürch's business soon flourished. The portraits that the young artist painted became so popular that, with the permission of Hendrik, Rembrandt began to set certain prices for his work. So, an image of a face from a young master of the brush could cost 50 florins, but for a full-scale portrait he could request up to 600 florins, respectively. And it was this period that became the most successful in the artist's life, which brought him a certain glory in society.

Van Eilenbürch and Van Rijn often met not only to discuss business issues, but also as old friends. Therefore, the fact that the artist soon asked for the hand of Hendrik's niece did not come as a surprise. At that time, Saskia had just moved to Amsterdam from Friesland, living a quiet and measured life in the house of a Reformed church preacher, Jan Cornelis Silvius, who was her cousin's husband.

An appropriate atmosphere of piety and integrity reigned in the preacher's house. However, approximately the same thing happened throughout the whole of Holland after the Protestant Reformation swept through it.

Since Saskia was an orphan, Rembrandt, as usual, asked for her hand and heart from her sisters and brothers, discussing with them what their wedding would be. Apparently, he tried to make a correct and good impression on her relatives. The Wilenburg family, which was the closest relative of his future wife, belonged to the Mennonite community, who were considered the most devout pacifists. Therefore, it is not surprising that Rembrandt did not want to appear to them as a wasteful and loafer.

Having received consent from her relatives, the couple announced their marriage on June 10, 1634 at the Oude Kerk Church, in the very center of Amsterdam. A few weeks later, they held a lavish wedding ceremony at Sint Annaparokhi in Friesland. It is curious that Rembrandt showed his wife's relatives the written consent of his mother to his marriage, however, according to the sources, not a single relative from his side was at the celebration. Probably, the successful artist chose to forget that earlier he belonged to simple, hard-working people.

It is difficult to call their marriage idyllic and correct, since, in fact, Rembrandt did not receive the blessing of his parents. And a few years later, it was the turn of Saskia's family to be indignant and to come into real indignation after he painted self-portraits of them with his wife, which were very far from the pious image that he was trying to build on the day they met.

The famous painting The Prodigal Son in a Tavern, which is now kept in Dresden, depicts a young man who bears a very clear resemblance to Rembrandt himself. In his hand is a glass of wine, which he holds out with a gesture, as if inviting the viewer to take part in the celebration. There are many interesting dishes on the table, including the roasted peacock, which denotes unbridled luxury. And on the lap of a young man sits a harlot, whose features are very similar to his wife, Saskia. Thus, the young artist portrayed himself and his wife, imitating a popular, biblical parable.

The painting was created at the intersection of genre and historical painting, thanks to which it was noticed by the art community. And this became a kind of disservice for Rembrandt. On the basis of this picture alone, the art community began to draw conclusions about him, presenting him as a libertine who drank and spent all his money. And the biographers were not even embarrassed by the fact that, probably, what is depicted in the picture could be just a metaphor and have nothing to do with the life of the artist himself.

However, the artist's affairs were going quite well in the first years after his marriage. At that time, he was incredibly interested in various antiquities. He often attended auctions organized by his friend Hendrik, and bought ancient manuscripts, accessories for his wife, and exotic trinkets there. He felt the greatest pleasure in the fact that with his own hands he could decorate his beloved half with precious silks, jewelry and pearls.

In the same period, the artist several times depicts his wife in the picture as Flora - the Roman goddess of spring, fertility and plants. Probably, in this way he was trying to emphasize that he saw in her the secret of his success, the personification of the prosperity that reigned in their lives, and also the fact that he expected fertility from her.

However, their firstborn, whom the couple named after Saskia's father, died at the age of two during the plague raging in Amsterdam from 1636 to 1640. Biographers note that at that time there were already three family tombstones near the Zuiderkerk church. After the first son, a whole series of deaths followed - two more children died in a very short period after their birth. They were girls, and both were named Cornelia in honor of the artist's mother, who thus tried to rectify the situation with his disdain for her blessing.

In the early 1640s, Saskia was again on demolition. However, not only her husband, but also her relatives knew that the girl was doomed: at that time she was suffering from consumption or tuberculosis. During that period, Rembrandt paints a lot, often depicting her sick and exhausted. Thanks to his artistic and creative mind, he did not turn away from such scary and painful scenes. Perhaps it even had the opposite effect, because after such etchings that he made, he is called the artist who showed life as it is.

However, Saskia and Rembrandt managed to feed and raise their son Titus to the age of one and a half years. At the same time, Saskia drew up her will. She wanted everything she owned to go to her son and husband, but on the condition that he never marry again. Otherwise, all of her savings would have gone to her family and relatives. Rembrandt did not mind, considering it fair.

His wife died in 1640 when she was barely 29 years old. He did not bury her next to the graves of their children, preferring a place near the church, where they were married. At the time, his brother-in-law Jan Sylvius was still serving there, and the artist hoped that his prayers would facilitate Saskia's transition to the afterlife.

After Rembrandt returned to his lonely and empty house, he removed from the wall a portrait of his wife, which he painted just a few years after their marriage. He portrayed Saskia in a red hat, standing in profile in front of the artist. He decided to recolor it and add details. So, thanks to a saved copy of the original version of the painting, art critics were able to find out that initially Saskia was not wrapped in furs, she did not have expensive accessories and jewelry, and her dress was simple and did not have bright ornaments. Scientists believe that in this way the artist wanted to say goodbye to his wife, showing her the last honors, and turning her into a cold, shining and inaccessible gem that will be hidden in his workshop for a long time.

Gertier Dierckx

Many fans of Rembrandt's work believe that his relationship with Gertier, the seductive nanny of his son Titus, is a kind of betrayal of his wife Saskia, as well as a very cruel attitude towards Gertier in particular.

The child was barely nine months old when his mother died. The father, who, of course, loved the boy, was busy with his work and spent most of his time in the workshop. Important patrons and potential customers avoided Rembrandt because of his growing interest in naturalism and realism, and therefore the artist fanatically searched for a new technique for drawing, completely immersed in his work.

The child needed care and love, and therefore the young widow of the trumpet player Abraham Klass, Gertier, entered the service of the artist. Soon she began to take care not only of the boy, but also of his father. Gertier became the artist's beloved, and they in no way hid their sinful relationship from society. An affair with Gertier calmed the artist, gave him strength, and he also gave her jewelry from his late wife.

Many assume that the severity of the loss, as well as the love fever, prompted Rembrandt to make such inherently immoral gifts. It is also assumed that at that time the artist still felt pain and bitterness of loss, and therefore dreamed of getting rid of it in this way, but soon he began to regret such an act.

He enjoyed the passion that flared up between them, and which was also vividly reflected in a whole series of his etchings - "Monk in the Cornfield", "Sleeping Shepherd", "Liqueur" and so on. At the same time, Rembrandt acquired prints, which were typical examples of erotic art, and belonged to the work of Agostino Caracci, Giulio Romano and other famous painters. It is believed that the erotic etchings drawn by the artist were not a desire to find something new in his work. Art critics believe that in this way he simply realistically depicts that love and sinful relationship, which was saturated exclusively with sex, and not serious relationships.

A few years after the beginning of their relationship, Gertier went to the notary, where she decided to legitimize her will. It is noted that she bequeathed all the jewelry that the artist gave her, as well as the portrait he painted directly to baby Titus. Historians disagree about this act. Some believe that Gertier simply became attached to the child, considered him practically hers, and therefore did everything to become an integral part of the family. Others suggest that it was the attitude, rude and tough, from the artist that influenced the girl so much. Making love to her, he did not give her any promises, because he remembered Saskia's will and was not going to lose his fortune by marrying again. Probably, Rembrandt could feel guilty, since Titus could not see his mother's jewelry, and therefore simply forced the girl to write such a will.

It is also known that their relationship did not last long. So, at the end of the 1640s, Rembrandt turned his attention to a young housekeeper and forgot about Gertier. He wanted to end their relationship with the world by offering the girl an annual salary and food of 160 guilders, and she agreed. However, when it came time to leave the artist, she looked lonely and broken, and, probably, that is why she refused such an offer, and also tried to pawn Saskia's jewelry by suing Rembrandt.

The artist came to the hearing, where Gertier said that he promised to marry her, and even gave her a ring (which in fact was not). She insisted either that he marry her or that child support was paid on a regular basis. Despite the previously proposed 160 guilders, Gertier believed that she deserved more. Then the court ruled that the artist would pay her 200 guilders. However, this did not stop the girl, who felt abandoned and used.

However, at that time, the artist's reputation began to gradually deteriorate and he had nothing to lose. He offered his neighbors money to make them talk bad about Gertier. He also managed to prove that she is disabled, accusing her of mental disorder and depravity. Thanks to this, she was placed for treatment in a psychiatric clinic, which in its essence was a prison, where an ascetic lifestyle, strict discipline and poor nutrition reigned. Prostitutes and simply unreliable women who got there worked tirelessly, up to aching fingers from the yarn. Gertier was released from there only five years later, despite the fact that Rembrandt insisted on eleven years of imprisonment.

After that, the woman fell seriously ill. In the mid-1650s, she died without seeing revenge on her abuser, who soon lost all his patrons and was close to ruin.

In the modern world, historians are wondering if we have ever seen the portraits of Gertier Dix, created by this artist. One of the Russian art historians from the Hermitage, Yuri Kuznetsov, scanned the famous painting of the artist - "Danae" by X-ray. He drew her about three years after marrying Saskia, and the girl in the picture also wore her wedding ring. Therefore, many reasonably assumed that she was the model for this image. However, the features of the lady in the picture did not match those of Saskia, who was more plump and rounder.

X-ray examination of this painting revealed that the original portrait was painted a little differently. Its first appearance, which has been preserved in the Dresden gallery, displayed the features of Saskia, and the one that later appeared in the Hermitage looks a little different. In the first version of the picture, the girl's left palm was drawn in a farewell gesture, and in the second, it was raised slightly upward, like a greeting. In the original version, the thighs of the model were covered with a blanket, which signifies a caring and gentle attitude. And in the second, the woman was completely naked, and her facial features changed, which probably indicates the influence of Gertier on the artist's work.

Hendrickje Stoffels

This girl was small, fragile, slightly round and black-eyed, which attracted the attention of the artist, who at that time was better known by the nickname "Apelles from Amsterdam".

At that time, Gertier and Rembrandt constantly quarreled, because she was poorly performing her household duties. So, their quarrels reached the point of absurdity and could happen because of an insufficiently clean sheet, a tasteless dinner and much more, which indicated a clear discord in their relationship.

At that moment, a miniature Hendrickje appeared. She was the daughter of a famous sergeant, and all her brothers served in the army, and therefore the girl was fearless and brave, like a staunch tin soldier. Soon, she also had to testify in court, confirming the fact that Gertier initially agreed to a payment of 160 guilders.

After Gertier left, the girl took the place of a housekeeper and housekeeper, and also became an excellent stepmother for the child and a faithful companion for his father. She was not too interested in a relationship with him: the girl knew that Rembrandt was going through hard times and was on the verge of ruin, and she also understood that he would never marry her, following the will of his late wife Saskia.

In 1654, Rembrandt undertook to paint his most famous painting in the nude genre - Bathing Bathsheba. She portrayed Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, a general from the army of King David, who was sitting on a snow-white sheet, clutching a letter from her beloved king, and her face was deeply thoughtful. All other images of Bathsheba by various artists showed her as sinful and frivolous, and Rembrandt portrays her as sad: she knows that she is pregnant, and her husband has been in the army for several months, and she realizes that soon their sinful act with David will be revealed.

Of course, Hendrickje acted as a muse and model for this picture, giving Bathsheba the curves of her body and her shape.

Art critics believe that Hendrickje was a humble servant, as well as a model for many of the artist's works. For example, for the painting "Woman in Bed", although it is not known whether Hendrickje or Gertier Dix was the muse for her. The artist's works, in which he portrayed a girl, were full of passion, demonstrated the undisguised sexuality of the model, as well as his charm for her young flesh and body. He never hid his relationship with her, and also called them ideal, because Hendrickje, unlike Gertier, was not boring and did not quarrel with him.

For a long time, the girl ignored the rumors that crept behind her back. They called her a prostitute and a fallen woman, but in 1654 the couple faced a new problem. At the beginning of the year, Hendrickje became pregnant, and by the end it became difficult to hide it, and then the girl and Rembrandt were summoned to the church council.

No charges were brought against the artist as he was never a member of the Reformation church. But in the case of Hendrickje, everything was much more serious. The council accused her of committing an act of prostitution while in bed with an artist. She admitted this and was forbidden to receive communion. The verdict of the church was harsh: to find the woman guilty and forbid her to continue her relationship with the artist.

In October of the same year, Hendrickje gave birth to a healthy child - a girl, the artist's third daughter, to whom he gave the name of his mother without hesitation. Unlike the girls from Saskia, this one was able to survive. At least it is known for sure that in 1670 Cornelia got married and gave birth to two sons - Rembrandt and Hendrik.

Hendrickje died in 1663 at the age of 38, having devoted more than fifteen years of her youth to the artist. He buried her, having survived this one of his beloved as well. And this later affected his work, in particular on self-portraits, which show the face of an old man who loved a lot in this life, and also went through a large number of troubles, sorrows and sufferings.

Rembrandt was a unique and mysterious person. One can talk about his life, as well as about his work, for an infinitely long time. Perhaps, more than anything in the world, he loved women and paint his own portraits, of which there are about a hundred. However, not so long ago, one of them was sold at auction for an impressive amount, thereby setting a new world record.