Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669)

 

Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669)

The Girl in a Picture Frame, 1641

Oil on panel, 105.5 × 76 cm

Royal Castle, Warsaw, Poland

Painted in 1641 during Rembrandt’s mature period, The Girl in a Picture Frame is a masterful trompe-l’œil portrait—an illusionistic composition in which the subject appears to step out of the confines of the frame itself. The young woman rests her fingers on the lower edge as though it were a real windowsill, blurring the boundary between painted space and lived reality.

Her gaze is direct, almost arresting, and her clothing—particularly the dark red velvet gown with a high lace collar—speaks to 17th-century Dutch fashion and the sitter’s evident status. Most striking, however, is the sense of animation: her right hand clutches the frame, her left rests gently as if mid-motion.

The work is one of two paintings acquired by Polish nobleman Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł in the 18th century and now forms part of the Royal Castle’s celebrated Lanckoroński Collection. The pendant to this painting, The Scholar at the Lectern, is also attributed to Rembrandt and hangs nearby, completing a visual dialogue between contemplation and presence.

Both works are preserved in Warsaw, where they are regarded as rare and exquisite examples of Rembrandt’s fascination with perception, identity, and the theatrical potential of the painted image.

REMBRANDT AND THE DUTCH GOLDEN AGE PAINTERS