Reclining Female Nude

Currently not on view

Reclining Female Nude

1658

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669)

Reclining Female Nude is emblematic of Rembrandt’s experimental printmaking style—and the ways in which that style has informed, and sometimes misled, interpretation. Using a combination of etching and drypoint techniques, a burin tool, and the tone on the printing plate, Rembrandt built up a concentrated web of lines to represent a nude woman embraced by shadow. This inky surface, as well as the cultural and political biases of his time, led the early art historian Adam von Bartsch to call the print Négresse Couchée (Negress Lying Down)—employing a term then commonly used in France to refer to Black women—in his 1797 catalogue of Rembrandt’s etchings. That title was widely accepted for over two centuries by most museums and scholars, even though the race of the woman is unclear. By attending to the artistic context and Rembrandt’s particular etching style, art historians have since recognized Bartsch’s inaccuracy, leading many to update the title.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Reclining Female Nude
'La Negresse Couchée'

Date:

1658

Artist:

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669)

Medium:

Etching, engraving and drypoint, with wiped plate tone

Dimensions:

Plate: 3 3/16 x 6 1/16 inches (8.1 x 15.4 cm) Sheet: 3 1/4 x 6 1/8 inches (8.2 x 15.5 cm)

Classification:

Prints

Credit Line:

The Muriel and Philip Berman Gift, acquired from the John S. Phillips bequest of 1876 to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, with funds contributed by Muriel and Philip Berman, gifts (by exchange) of Lisa Norris Elkins, Bryant W. Langston, Samuel S. White 3rd and Vera White, with additional funds contributed by John Howard McFadden, Jr., Thomas Skelton Harrison, and the Philip H. and A.S.W. Rosenbach Foundation, 1985

Accession Number:

1985-52-2231

Geography:

Made in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Europe

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Currently not on view