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Nude Lying Down
Print
1658 (made)
1658 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
In early inventories of Rembrandt’s prints the subject of this etching was referred to as ‘het slapende vrouwtje’ ('the sleeping girl’). Later, around 1800, she was identified as a ‘negress lying down’. Rembrandt would have seen black Africans in Amsterdam; he made figure sketches of some individuals and on occasion included black subjects in his paintings, particularly those of historical or religious scenes. However, it is almost certain that the identification of the subject in this work as a black African woman is an incorrect interpretation of the artist’s intention to portray a (white) female nude in a dark interior.
Object details
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| Object type | |
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| Materials and techniques | Etching, drypoint and burin |
| Brief description | Etching, drypoint and burin by Rembrandt van Rijn, 'Nude lying down', third state. Amsterdam, 1658. |
| Physical description | Etching, drypoint and burin depicting in landscape format of a reclining female nude, resting upon a crumpled sheet, with her back towards the viewer. The figure wears some kind of headcovering, the details of which are not visible. |
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| Gallery label | The familiar title of this print, 'Negress lying down' probably derives from a simple misreading of Rembrandt's entirely characteristic depiction of a figure in a deeply shadowed interior; earlier references suggest that it belongs to the artist's series of 'naked young women sleeping'. Nineteenth-century connoisseurs and artists such as Strang and Whistler rediscovered these delightfully informal and intimate studies, valuing them more highly than Rembrandt's grander and more solemn productions.(May 2008) |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by Constantine Alexander Ionides |
| Object history | NB The term "negress" was used historically to describe people of black African heritage but, since the 1960s, has fallen from usage and, increasingly, is considered offensive. The term is repeated here in its original historical context. C.A. Ionides Bequest. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | In early inventories of Rembrandt’s prints the subject of this etching was referred to as ‘het slapende vrouwtje’ ('the sleeping girl’). Later, around 1800, she was identified as a ‘negress lying down’. Rembrandt would have seen black Africans in Amsterdam; he made figure sketches of some individuals and on occasion included black subjects in his paintings, particularly those of historical or religious scenes. However, it is almost certain that the identification of the subject in this work as a black African woman is an incorrect interpretation of the artist’s intention to portray a (white) female nude in a dark interior. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | CAI.728 |
About this object record
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| Record created | December 12, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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