The Artist's Mother: Head and Bust Three Quarters Right

The Artist's Mother: Head and Bust Three Quarters Right, created by Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) in 1628, is a pivotal early etching focusing on the intimate theme of portraits of women. This print, classified as the second state of four according to New Holl., exemplifies the artist’s burgeoning skill in manipulating line and tone to achieve profound psychological depth.

Rembrandt frequently used his family members, especially his mother Neeltgen Willemsdr. van Zuytbrouck, as models for character studies, often referred to as tronies. This approach allowed him to experiment freely with expressions and the dramatic effects of artificial light without the constraints of formal commissions. In this work, the focused illumination dramatically highlights the texture of the woman's aged skin and the heavy, shadowed drape of her head covering. Rembrandt employed a detailed, meticulous etching technique to render the subtle shifts in emotion and the intense concentration of the sitter’s inward gaze, characteristic of his early Leiden period realism.

The classification as the second state of four reveals Rembrandt’s iterative process of refining the etched plate over time, underscoring his foundational commitment to graphic arts. This influential work is today part of the distinguished collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a critical piece of 17th-century Dutch art, high-resolution images of these historic prints often reside in the public domain, providing crucial access for students and scholars worldwide studying the masterful development of this Dutch Golden Age giant.