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Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669)
Woman Carrying a Child Downstairs, ca. 1636
Pen and brown ink, brown wash
Inscribed at lower right corner, in an old hand, in brown ink, W or R
7 3/8 x 5 3/16 inches (187 x 132 mm)
Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1910; I, 191
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In this remarkably intimate study, Rembrandt masterfully employed his brush to evoke the darkness of the staircase and create a sense of movement in the dramatic shadows that envelop the woman. With a thick reed pen and brown ink, he described her cap, using careful strokes to define the faces of woman and child, and bold strokes to describe the child's body and woman's skirt.

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