Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669)
The Artist’s Mother, Head and Bust: Three-Quarters Right, 1628
Etching
Norton Simon Art Foundation, M.1977.32.001.G

In this miniscule print, just shy of three inches square, an elderly woman looks stoically into the middle distance, seemingly lost in thought and unaware of the artist’s attention. She is possibly Rembrandt’s mother, Neeltgen Willemsdr. van Zuytbrouck (c. 1568–1640), though the etching’s current title may have been assigned in the 19th century to appeal to collectors who were interested in the artist’s biography. The image hovers somewhere between a portrait and an artistic exercise. Rembrandt produced numerous studies of unidentified, sometimes invented faces, though this woman’s individualized features and nuanced expression suggest that she was a specific person. She likely knew the artist, as Rembrandt often used the women in his life as models, and she may have permitted his sensitive observations because of their familiar relationship.