The artist’s mather with her hand on her chest: small bust

The characteristic face of this old woman appears quite frequently in Rembrandt’s early oeuvre. Scholars have mostly sought the model in the figure of his mother Neeltgen Willemsdr., later Cornelia Willemsdr. van Zoutbroeck (ca. 1568-1640). However, none of Rembrandt’s pictures were intended as portraits per se, instead his parents’ faces served him in studying expression and an endeavour to capture moods and inner tension. This period is when Rembrandt’s interest in old age began to manifest, as nearly half of his works consisted of studies depicting old men and women.That Rembrandt largely intended these works as tronies may also be inferred from the fact that most of the titles as Rembrandt’s or The Artist’s Mother are of later origin.