Housed in the National Gallery, London, this 1656 portrait represents Hendrickje Stoffels, who was living with Rembrandt as his mistress. Hendrickje obtained work as the artist’s housekeeper, living with him from 1647, at first as a maid, but soon becoming his lover, leading to an acrimonious fallout with Rembrandt’s previous resident lover Geertje Dircx, who sued Rembrandt for breach of promise in 1649, demanding maintenance payments from him. Hendrickje testified in the case, confirming that a financial agreement had been reached with Geertje. In 1654, when she was pregnant with Rembrandt’s daughter, Hendrickje had to appear before the church council for ‘living in sin’ with Rembrandt, who was a widower and twenty years her senior. She admitted that she had “committed the acts of a whore with Rembrandt the painter” and was banned from receiving communion. On 30 October 1654, the couple’s daughter Cornelia van Rijn was baptised in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam. Initially, Rembrandt’s unwillingness to marry Hendrickje was due to a pecuniary motive, as by marrying her he would have forfeited the inheritance of his wife Saskia. Even with this inheritance he was suffering major financial problems, but without it he would have been bankrupt. However, in 1655, Titus, the son he had with Saskia, turned fourteen and was thereby eligible by law to make his will. Rembrandt immediately made sure that Titus installed him as his only heir and by that he was free from Saskia’s inheritance will. Nevertheless, he still did not marry Hendrickje, though she remained with him until her death in 1663.
The canvas reveals a level of affection and intimacy between artist and sitter that is rarely seen in a commissioned portrait, demonstrating an increasing breadth of form and handling characteristic of Rembrandt’s style in this period. The represented forms lose their complexity of structure and surface detail found in earlier works, although they remain firm and block-like. The portrait is now regarded as one of the most private of in all of the artist’s oeuvre, establishing a quiet, dignified mood, whilst also suggesting a sensuous relationship between the artist and sitter, whose hand disappears into her fur robe. Hendrickje’s vulnerable, yet alluring gaze seems to tempt the viewer to share in the intimate moment captured by the artist.