After making a long journey across the Atlantic from Washington DC’s National Gallery of Art, an intimate portrait by Rembrandt of his wife Saskia has returned to the Netherlands.
As part of an international exchange with the National Gallery of Art, the "Saskia van Uylenburgh" painting will be featured as a part of the permanent Amsterdam DNA exhibition on a two-year loan.
The painting will be officially unveiled at the Amsterdam Museum on August 2, 2013, the 401st anniversary of Saskia's birthday.
Experts conclude that Rembrandt began this particular portrait of Saskia soon after their marriage, around 1634, but didn’t complete until a few years later, around 1640.
The striking picture is a fine example of Rembrandt’s artistic genius and has not been on display in Europe since its 1894 appearance in Paris.
After a recent restoration, the temporary relocation in August 2013 brings "Saskia" back on display for the very first time in a Dutch museum since the famous Dutch master created the piece in the 17th century.
› More on the Amsterdam DNA exhibition
› Amsterdam Museum visitor's information
Rembrandt van Rijn, "Saskia van Uylenburgh," 1634/1635-1640, oil on panel. The National Gallery of Art, Washington, the Widener Collection
Born in 1612 in Leeuwarden to a wealthy Friesian family, Saskia van Uylenburgh was Rembrandt's first wife and a frequent subject of his paintings, etchings and drawings.
The couple lived together in Amsterdam’s city centre at what is now the Rembrandthuis Museum.
She had four children with the painter and died shortly after Titus, their only surviving child, was born.
Saskia was burried in Amsterdam's historical Oude Kerk in 1642.