Study Sheet with Three Women and a Boy

"Study Sheet with Three Women and a Boy" is a masterful drawing by Rembrandt van Rijn, executed in pen and brown ink sometime between 1633 and 1644. This rapid sketch exemplifies the artist's spontaneous and economical drafting style, characterized by the quick, expressive application of ink that defines form and movement with minimal effort. Unlike highly finished compositions, study sheets were functional tools that allowed Rembrandt to quickly capture expressions, gestures, and figure arrangements for potential use in future etchings or oil paintings.

The sheet features several distinct sketches crowded onto the page, focusing primarily on various poses of women and the figure of a young boy. These figures, likely sketched from life observations of models in the studio or people encountered in 17th-century Amsterdam, reflect the Dutch Golden Age master's characteristic focus on the natural world and the common person. Rembrandt frequently created such studies of everyday subjects to refine his understanding of human anatomy and costume before incorporating them into grander narrative works or portrait commissions.

As a vital example of Dutch draftsmanship, this piece demonstrates Rembrandt’s profound ability to convey vitality and character through line alone. The work resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it serves as a key reference for scholars studying the artist's technical process. Dating from the height of the Dutch Golden Age, this significant drawing is now out of copyright, ensuring that high-resolution scans and prints are widely accessible through the museum’s commitment to global public domain resources.