Flora (Rembrandt, Hermitage)

Saskia as Flora is a painted by Rembrandt van Rijn Portrait from 1634. The 125 centimeters high and 101 centimeters wide painting shows Rembrandt's wife Saskia van Uylenburgh in the role of Flora, who was the god of the blossom and spring in Roman mythology. The portrait is in the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg.

Image description

The Portrait of Saskia as Flora shows Rembrandt's wife, Saskia van Uylenburgh, the year of their wedding. It is the central motif; shown on the left. The dress is decorated with opulent embroidery and stands out brightly from the dark image background. Saskia is clearly identified with floral elements as attributes as Flora. She wears floral headdress and holding a flower- staff in his hand. The face is accented Saskia by Rembrandt through the light guide.

Background

The portrait is generally recognized by the flowers attributes as a representation of the flora. Whether it really but Saskia is controversial. Of the proponents similarities between a drawing of her that Rembrandt in 1633 shortly after her engagement anfertigte, a portrait of Saskia as Flora in the National Gallery in London and the St. Petersburg Portrait be cited. Even if the painting surfaces are different, the similarity of the faces, the body could not be random. The experts of the Rembrandt Research Project have not shown convincing in her work, A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings Volume II from 1986 of it.