1658

Reclining Female Nude

Dutch, 1606 - 1669

Reclining Female Nude is emblematic of Rembrandt’s experimental printmaking style—and the ways in which that style has informed, and sometimes misled, interpretation. Using a combination of etching and drypoint techniques, a burin tool, and the tone on the printing plate, Rembrandt built up a concentrated web of lines to represent a nude woman embraced by shadow. This inky surface, as well as the cultural and political biases of his time, led the early art historian Adam von Bartsch to call the print Négresse Couchée (Negress Lying Down)—employing a term then commonly used in France to refer to Black women—in his 1797 catalogue of Rembrandt’s etchings. That title was widely accepted for over two centuries by most museums and scholars, even though the race of the woman is unclear. By attending to the artistic context and Rembrandt’s particular etching style, art historians have since recognized Bartsch’s inaccuracy, leading many to update the title.