Portrait of an Old Woman

Of the three pieces held in this collection, the most outstanding one is the "Portrait of an Old Woman". It captures the best of Rembrandt, the portrait artist. The old lady pictured is in no way unique, but her image is somehow strangely captivating. Her tilted head, tired slumped shoulders, folded hands, and wrinkled, pursed lips all give a sense of the humility and isolation of age, of sadness and loneliness.

Her gaze does not meet the viewer's. It is as if she is looking inward, into herself, focused on her own concerns, thoughts, and memories - a world that the artist opens up for us. And indeed, the mood captured in the portrait seems to be built up from various different worries or concerns, layer upon layer, subtle nuances of feeling, pensiveness, and sensation. We see them reflected in her face due to the depiction of her features - which seem somehow undefined, changeable, and seem keenly responsive to any emotional stimulus, any thought process. The shadows and use of light, the movement and reflections, accomplished through multiple uneven brush-strokes - some thick some thin, give the sense of the model's complex psychology, and lend the painting an internal dynamic.

Rembrandt's portraits seem infused with a vast expanse of time, capturing people's entire lives. The power with which the light shines on the woman's face gives the impression that it is shining from within, from the depths of her being, and that it somehow represents her spiritual life. The rich, deep, tones used for the scarf not only communicate the fabric's colour, but also how it shines or goes dark depending on how the light hits it, all this seems to represent her worries, seems to echo her stifled feelings. The viewer is given an insight into the rich internal world of someone who has led a difficult life, has gained wisdom through experience, spirituality and purity. Rembrandt communicates the depth and diversity of human nature.