The Jewish Bride

English

The Jewish Bride: Rembrandt

Price: Price on Request
Art Type: Oil Painting
Size:
English Comments: 0
International Comments: 0
Creating Date:
Introduction and Works of Rembrandt >>

Contemporary-Art.org

Reproduction

Enlarge

Rembrandt Oil Painting - The Jewish Bride

Keywords: Jewish, Bride

Work Overview: The Jewish Bride
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn
Portret van een paar als oudtestamentische figuren, genaamd 'Het Joodse bruidje'
Year c. 1667
Medium Oil on canvas
Dimensions 121.5 cm × 166.5 cm (47.8 in × 65.6 in)
Location Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The Jewish Bride (Dutch: Het Joodse bruidje) is a painting by Rembrandt, painted around 1667.

The painting gained its current name in the early 19th century, when an Amsterdam art collector identified the subject as that of a Jewish father bestowing a necklace upon his daughter on her wedding day. This interpretation is no longer accepted, and the identity of the couple is uncertain.[1] The ambiguity is heightened by the lack of anecdotal context, leaving only the central universal theme, that of a couple joined in love.[2] Speculative suggestions as to the couple's identity have ranged from Rembrandt's son Titus and his bride, or Amsterdam poet Miguel de Barrios and his wife. Also considered are several couples from the Old Testament, including Abraham and Sarah, or Boaz and Ruth. The likeliest identification, however, is that of Isaac and Rebekah, as described in Genesis 26:8, and is supported by a drawing by the artist of the same theme.[3]

While technical evidence suggests that Rembrandt initially envisioned a larger and more elaborate composition, the placement of his signature at lower left indicates that its current dimensions are not significantly different from those at the time of its completion.[4] According to Rembrandt biographer Christopher White, the completed composition is "one of the greatest expressions of the tender fusion of spiritual and physical love in the history of painting."[5]

The painting is in the permanent collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

One of Rembrandt’s most famous works is the painting known as The Jewish Bride. The painting acquired this name at the beginning of the nineteenth century, but the subject of the picture remains a mystery to this day. Is it an Old Testament couple? Or is it a double portrait of two of Rembrandt’s contemporaries? It could also be a combination of both possibilities—a man and a woman who had themselves immortalized as biblical figures. This is known as a portrait historié, a historicized portrait. If this is the case, most art historians believe that the couple represent Isaac and Rebecca. Another, more neutral explanation is that the man is declaring his love to his wife. In that case the subject of the painting would be the virtue of marriage. As well as the uncertainty as to the subject, we also do not know the year in which Rembrandt painted this work. It is dated to about 1666. Rembrandt applied the paint very roughly in this painting. The paint on the man’s sleeve is so thick that it seems as though Rembrandt used a palette knife to put it on.

Two contemporaries had themselves portrayed by Rembrandt in historicizing costumes as characters from the Bible. The couple’s tender embrace is at the centre of this poignant painting: the man’s loving gesture is returned with a gentle caress. The figures and their poses agree with the study (No 67), only the figure of King Abimelech spying on them is missing. We, the viewers, assume his role as witnesses of their clandestine love.

-------------------------
Rembrandt's colouristic power increases tremendously during his last period, although not all of his mature works display it; some of the single portraits remain largely monochromatic. The so-called Jewish Bride of c. 1665, which may be a commissioned portrait of a couple in the guise of a biblical pair (such as Isaac and Rebecca), belongs to his most brilliant colouristic creations. Even in reproductions it is possible to see something of the fluctuating quality of his late paint, the vibrations of the tones, and the harmonious fusion of the whole; but they can hardly suggest the warmth of the fiery scarlets, the golden yellows, the delicate blues and olives, the powerful whites, and deep blacks of his late palette. The broad, calm, relief-like arrangement of the life-size half-figures recalls a certain type of Venetian Renaissance painting. This reveals a touch of classical taste, but the use of colour in the portrait is quite unclassical.

Like The Night Watch, this is another misnamed masterpiece by Rembrandt which it would be insensitive to re-title. To be sure, the painting does not represent a Jewish bridal couple in the sense which the nineteenth century, which invented the title, would have had in mind. The picture would then have been regarded as a romantic costume-piece, its very strangeness and aura of secretiveness suggesting that it showed some exotic rite, which was outside the experience of a predominantly Christian society.

There can be no doubt, however, that an intimate relationship between the two figures was intended by the artist. The man places his hand on the woman's breast, while she moves instinctively to protect her modesty, in the classic pose of the Venus pudica which Rembrandt would have known from engravings or casts of classical statues. Yet the couple show every sign of tenderness towards each other, so this is not a common seduction scene (a frequent enough subject in Dutch painting). The theme most widely favoured by modern scholars is Isaac embracing his wife Rebecca while they were being spied on by Abimelech (Genesis, Chapter XXVI), which Rembrandt had previously represented in a drawing. To summarize the Bible narrative, Isaac, staying in the land of the Philistines, passes off Rebecca as his sister, because, if the Philistines had wanted to seduce her and had known she was Isaac's wife, they would have felt obliged to kill him first. One day, Abimelech, the Philistine King, observes the couple from a window making love in secret and guesses the truth, namely that they are man and wife. He reproves Isaac for the deception, pointing out that any man might have lain with Rebecca in all innocence, not realizing she was a married woman, and would thus have brought dishonour on himself and his people.

Possibly Isaac and his wife Rebecca (Rebekah), but more likely a painting of two people in an old testamental setting. A 19th century art dealer analyzed the scene as a father giving a necklace to his daughter who is going to be married, hence Jewish Bride.

Another 19th century theory has Jephta and his daughter as the subjects. Jephta had promised God to sacrifice the first person who would meet him after a battle. Unfortunately, his own daughter became that person (Judges 11:35). She seemed to carry her fate with dignity.

If the painting does represent Isaac and Rebecca, it is probably based on Genesis 26:8. Isaac lives in the city of Gerar, in the south of the land Canaan. He has his neighbors believe that his wife is really his sister, because he fears that they might kill him out of jealousy his pretty wife. However, after a while the king catches them behaving as Rembrandt paints them: ‘sporting', as the KJV has it.

The cloths have very warm colors and are painted in great detail. Rembrandt used a painting-knife to apply thick layers of paint, a technique known as impasto. This resulted in even more realistic folds in the clothing.

The Jewish Bride, which is on display in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, is a painting by Rembrandt that dates from circa 1667. The work was created using oil paints on canvas, and it measures 47.8 by 65.6 inches.

The Name
It is not known by what name the artist referred to this painting. It was called The Jewish Bride by an art collector in Amsterdam, who interpreted the painting as a Jewish father who has gifted a necklace to his daughter on her wedding day.

Many experts disagree with this interpretation. Some believe the two figures portrayed are lovers or a married couple. Others think it represents a biblical couple.

Composition
The painting depicts a male figure lightly embracing a female. He has his left arm around her shoulders, and his right hand lies on her breasts. Her left hand rests on his right hand. The background is done in shades of brown and has little definition.

Copyright Statement:
All the reproduction of any forms about this work unauthorized by Singing Palette including images, texts and so on will be deemed to be violating the Copyright Laws.
To cite this webpage, please link back here.

>> English Comments >> Chinese Comments >> French Comments >> German Comments >>Report

Rembrandt

Work Overview