[Illustration: SASKIA, BY REMBRANDT]
Rembrandt, too, was married twice, and although his first wife was
refined and aristocratic and his second far from it, having been a
servant in his household, he was intensely happy with both and painted
them many times. Saskia van Ulenburg, although not strictly speaking
a beauty from the casual point of view, lent herself admirably,
nevertheless, to pictorial treatment, especially that pictorial
treatment of lights and deep shadows of which her husband was the
greatest master that ever lived. Indeed, the pictures in which she
appears are almost too numerous to mention. There is the delightful
portrait of her in the gallery at Cassel, said to have been painted in
her own home in 1633, the year before she and Rembrandt were married.
Her face in profile, the features delicately delineated, is shown
against a background of deep, rich colors. With the lightest touch
her wavy chestnut hair lies upon her cheek and forehead. A spray of
rosemary in her hand rests across her heart. This, the emblem of a
Dutch maiden’s betrothal, tells its own story.
[Illustration: REMBRANDT, BY HIMSELF
_In the Royal Gallery, Berlin._]
Probably, however, the most famous portrait ever painted of an artist
and his wife is that by Rembrandt in the Dresden Gallery, of Saskia
seated on his knees while he clasps her waist with his left hand and
raises in his right a half-filled glass. The joy on their faces gives
witness to the pride and pleasure they found in each other. Saskia was
a wealthy woman, and while she lived want never entered Rembrandt’s
house. But, alas! she was delicate, and died in 1642, less than a year
after giving birth to the son who was christened Titus. Rembrandt had
spent much money in filling his house with objects of art,--prints,
rich stuffs for costumes, and other things--and not long after Saskia’s
death he found himself impoverished. Some idea of the richness of his
collections is obtained from the adornments with which Saskia appears
in the picture known as the “Jewish Bride,” and in the genre portrait,
“Minerve,” in which she is shown as a learned lady in the richest of
costumes, seated at a beautiful table and reading from an ancient tome.
Rembrandt ranks with the greatest masters in art. “He rides fastest who
rides alone.” Is it possible that Rembrandt could have ridden faster or
reached a farther goal without Saskia and Hendrikje?
[Illustration: REMBRANDT AND SASKIA, BY REMBRANDT
_In the Royal Gallery, Dresden._]