Rembrandt sketched, drew, and painted his beloved wife, Saskia, throughout their marriage—in sickness and in health, right until her death parted them. He depicted her in every way he could. In his artworks, we see Saskia the woman, wife, mother, and muse. We see her disheveled upon waking; laughing with her husband; and as majestic Minerva, the ancient Roman goddess of wisdom, to name a few depictions.
Rembrandt’s three paintings of Saskia as Flora, the ancient Roman goddess of spring and fertility, reflect the seasons of Rembrandt’s marriage and the transience of life—from the first buds of their honeymoon to her blossoming pregnancy and to her untimely death.
Together, these Flora paintings also show how Rembrandt used ancient Greek and Roman, and Italian Renaissance, elements in his art. In both the Northern and Italian Renaissance, artists enjoyed creating works using ancient gods, goddesses, and mythological creatures.
Having never traveled to Italy, Rembrandt took inspiration from the works of Northern Renaissance artists who had, such as Anthony van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens, and history painter Pieter Lastman, whom he studied with in Amsterdam around 1624. Rembrandt also had access to Italian Renaissance art in Amsterdam, such as Titian’s painting of Flora owned by the Spanish ambassador in the city, Alfonso Lopez.
Budding Love
In 1633, Saskia met Rembrandt in Amsterdam while she was visiting her cousin, Rembrandt’s art dealer, Hendrick van Uylenburgh.Rembrandt made his first sketch of Saskia in silverpoint, a few days after their betrothal. It’s a delicate and delightful work full of love. She wears a wide-brimmed hat, and a shy smile, as she holds a flower, perhaps a rose, that Rembrandt had just given her. Under the sketch, Rembrandt wrote: “This is a likeness of my wife, drawn when she was 21 years old, on the third day of our betrothal. 8 June, 1633.”
The couple wed on June 22, 1634, and in that same year, Rembrandt first painted Saskia as Flora.
Rembrandt depicted Saskia side-on, in a life-size, three-quarter-length pose, wearing a voluminous silk and satin dress embroidered with silver. She looks like a maiden—innocent and a little shy. She turns her head to face the viewer, as if she’s been disturbed. She holds a staff covered with foliage and wears a crown of flowers, including a “broken” tulip. Artists favored painting “broken tulips” with split petals and striated markings.
Perhaps Rembrandt knew the work of Flemish physicist and botanist Carolus Clusius, who first discovered that the markings were caused by a virus. Clusius knew that if tulips changed from their natural color, they would probably not live long. He said such a bloom existed “only to delight its master’s eyes with this variety of colors before dying, as if to bid him a last farewell.”
Her voluminous dress and floral crown mirrors an ancient Imperial Roman statue of Flora in Rome’s Capitoline Museums. But instead of a cornucopia of flowers, Rembrandt painted Saskia holding her skirt in her hand.
A year into their marriage, in 1635, Rembrandt again painted Saskia as Flora in the painting now titled “Saskia van Uylenburgh in Arcadian Costume.” This time, Saskia’s red hair flows loose around her shoulders, and rather than the pensive young bride we see in his first Flora painting, this Saskia appears confident. She looks out to the right of the painting, as if she’s looking directly at her husband as he paints.
Her open-armed gesture closely mirrors the pose of the ancient Flora statue previously mentioned; as does the cornucopia of flowers she now holds.
Rembrandt painted the flowers in the fashion of the day, at the height of “tulip mania,” when a tulip bulb could cost as much as an Amsterdam canal house. Margaret Fairbanks Marcus, in “Period Flower Arrangement,” writes that “By mid-century, the characteristic baroque composition had evolved massive flowers following a scroll or S-curve, with a swirl of windswept foliage. ... The mood of baroque is dynamic and boldly confident. Such lush abundance has never been seen before or since in Western art.”
Rembrandt reflects this flower arranging composition in Flora’s cornucopia, also mirroring the new still-life flower genre. “There must be no quiet spot but an exciting movement of arching stems, nodding flowers, and curling petals. The final effect should be neither rigid nor bunched but voluminous and graceful,” Marcus added. Rembrandt included tulips, roses, primulas, and tiny pinks in Saskia’s bouquet, even though some of those flowers naturally bloom in different seasons. Showing flowers from different seasons and stages of life is a common theme of Dutch vanitas paintings—a genre focusing on the transience of life.
Rembrandt paints such an abundance of flowers to remind viewers that Flora is the goddess of fertility, which is especially significant to Saskia as Flora here, as she rests on her staff. Her rounded belly and full bosom show she’s pregnant, with their first child.
A Farewell Flora
Rembrandt painted Saskia as Flora for the last time in 1641. This painting, “Saskia With the Red Flower” differs from his previous two. He used his signature rich reds and chestnut brown to create an endearing yet somber portrait. There’s no burst of color celebrating marriage or announcing an imminent birth. This portrait signals Saskia’s last breath—commemorating her life and their marriage. She’s pale and tired—small circles frame her eyes. She places her left hand on her heart, faces the viewer directly, and offers him or her a flower with her hand.
The gentle essence of Rembrandt’s betrothal sketch echoes through this painting; he includes only one flower, too. But this is not the beginning of their life together: Saskia died before reaching 30 years old, from tuberculosis and the strains of giving birth months earlier. Saskia and Rembrandt had seven happy years of marriage at the height of the artist’s fame. “Saskia With the Red Flower” is Saskia’s farewell, and Rembrandt’s goodbye to his dearly loved wife.
