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 This is the only etching in which Rembrandt portrays himself and his wife Saskia, together. The scene is not a domestic one, but an allusion to the significance of marriage to the artist and his art. Rembrandt had to portray both figures in a mirror to get the light to fall across both figures from the same side. Rembrandt was well aware of the effect of reversal when printing a double portrait etched on a copperplate. The image on the plate eventually appears reversed on paper when printed. The left hand is probably shown at rest because Rembrandt was right handed and he didn't want to give the impression he was drawing with his left. |
