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A man gently lays his hand on a young woman's breast as she touches his hand with her fingertips, both lost in thought. Painted around 1665–1669, The Jewish Bride is one of the most moving images of love in art, and one of the boldest examples of Rembrandt's late technique.
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A misleading title
The name The Jewish Bride dates from the early nineteenth century, when an Amsterdam collector imagined that the painting showed a Jewish father giving a necklace to his daughter on her wedding day. Today most historians believe it represents the biblical couple Isaac and Rebecca. In the Book of Genesis, the couple pretended to be brother and sister to protect themselves, until the king saw Isaac "sporting" with his wife, an intimate gesture that revealed they were married.
The couple may also have been an Amsterdam husband and wife who asked Rembrandt to paint them in the guise of Isaac and Rebecca, a popular form of portraiture at the time. Rembrandt painted it in the last years of his life, between about 1665 and 1669, when he was bankrupt, widowed and largely out of fashion.
The hands
The heart of the painting is the gesture of the hands. The man rests his right hand tenderly on the young woman's breast, and she lightly touches his hand with her fingertips, accepting the caress. Her other hand rests on her belly. Nothing is forced or passionate: the gesture expresses trust, protection and love.
Detail 1
The tender gesture
The man's hand rests on the woman's breast, and her fingertips touch his hand in reply. The gesture is intimate, protective and calm.
The faces
The two faces are turned slightly away from each other, both lost in thought, as if they were listening to something within. The woman's face is soft and gentle, framed by pearls and a jewelled headband; the man's face, with a short beard, is grave and tender.
Detail 2The bride's face
The young woman's face is calm and pensive, her eyes downcast. Pearls hang at her ears and around her neck.
Detail 3The husband's face
The man looks down with a tender, serious expression. His face is painted with soft, warm light.
The golden sleeve
The man's sleeve is painted with an extraordinary thickness of paint, built up with a palette knife and the handle of the brush into a rough relief of gold, ochre and white. Up close it looks almost abstract; from a distance it glows like real brocade. This free, sculptural handling of paint was centuries ahead of its time.
Detail 4The sculpted sleeve
Rembrandt applied the paint of the golden sleeve with a palette knife, building a thick relief that catches the light like real embroidered fabric.
Van Gogh in front of the painting
When the Rijksmuseum opened in 1885, Vincent van Gogh went to see The Jewish Bride. He sat in front of it for hours and wrote to his brother Theo that he would give ten years of his life to sit before it for a fortnight with only a crust of dry bread. He admired above all the freedom and boldness of Rembrandt's brushwork.
The red dress
The woman's red dress glows with layers of crimson and vermilion, painted with broad, energetic strokes. The warm red and gold of the costumes against the dark, indefinite background give the painting its intimate, glowing atmosphere.
Detail 5The glowing red dress
The bride's dress is built from rich layers of red paint, applied freely so that the fabric seems to shimmer in the half-light.
Seeing The Jewish Bride
The painting measures about 1.2 by 1.7 metres and hangs in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, near The Night Watch.
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Why is it called The Jewish Bride?
The title was given in the 19th century, based on a mistaken interpretation; the painting probably shows the biblical couple Isaac and Rebecca.
When did Rembrandt paint The Jewish Bride?
He painted it around 1665–1669, in the last years of his life.
What did Van Gogh say about The Jewish Bride?
He said he would give ten years of his life to sit in front of it for a fortnight with only a crust of bread.
Where is The Jewish Bride?
It is in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Sources and further reading
- Rijksmuseum, collection notes on Isaac and Rebecca, known as The Jewish Bride
- Ernst van de Wetering, Rembrandt: The Painter at Work (1997)
- Vincent van Gogh, letter to Theo van Gogh, October 1885
