Woman with Her Feet in a Brook

Late in Rembrandt’s printmaking career, images of nude women became his most favored theme. Woman with her Feet in a Brook explores the soft sensuality of the female body seen in soft light. As is so often the case with Rembrandt, his work began with acute observation of the world before him and then progressed in to the realm of fantasy and imagination. The model sat on a cushioned chair, the backrest of which extends to either side of her. As Rembrandt’s mind wandered, the chair became an embankment strewn with clothing and a grand pillow with an extravagant tassel. The woman gazes down, seeming to attend to her garments. Her lower legs disappear into water that has just the faintest glimmer of reflection on its surface. Behind her Rembrandt added the suggestion of a forest landscape.