The Prophetess Anna (known as 'Rembrandt's Mother')

Catalogue number: Bredius 69.

The old woman reading the Bible is the Prophetess. Hanna. She was present when Joseph and Mary brought their son Jesus to the Temple, and she immediately recognised Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. The letters in the sacred book appear to be Hebrew, although they cannot be read as a text.

The thoughtful portrayal of old people of both sexes is a conspicuous feature of Rembrandt's work, especially in his Leiden years. He also often represented old people singly. The models in these paintings are sometimes represented in their own persons, but more often they are dressed in one or more of the exotic costumes which Rembrandt accumulated and kept in his studio wardrobe.

One elderly male and one elderly female model recur repeatedly in his work throughout the Leiden period - and not only in Rembrandt's work but also in that of his associates at this time, Gerrit Dou and Jan Lievens. In the past, these two figures were often identified as Rembrandt's father and mother. The old woman in the present picture appears in at least three other paintings by him, including Anna Accused by Tobit of Stealing the Kid and the first, Hamburg version of The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, where she is the Prophetess Hanna. The same woman is also represented in five etchings by Rembrandt between 1628 and 1633.