Detail of a Portrait of a Woman Wearing a Gold Chain by Rembrandt in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, June 2010

Portrait of a Woman Wearing a Gold Chain
1634
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Dutch, 1606–1669

Dimensions: 69.5 x 53 cm (27 3/8 x 20 7/8 in.)

Medium or Technique: Oil on panel

Classification: Paintings
Type: Portrait - Single - Female

Catalogue Raisonné: Bredius 346; RRP C 73

Accession Number: 93.1474

As a young painter newly arrived in Amsterdam, Rembrandt rapidly gained fame for his stylish portraits of Dutch burghers. Paired images of couples were common in the Netherlands; this painting and its companion, MFA Object No. 93.1475, show an unidentified husband and wife. Rembrandt captures the viewer's attention with his vivid presentation of the woman's engaging personality and the dazzling rendering of her multi-layered lace collar and gold chain. Rembrandt's technique was already daring; he has scratched the highlights of his subject's curly hair into the wet paint with the butt end of his brush.

Text from: www.mfa.org/collections/object/portrait-of-a-woman-wearin...