Description
Portrait of Isaac and Rebecca, commonly known as The Jewish Bride, is a fascinating painting by Rembrandt.
According to his letters, Vincent van Gogh burst into tears in front of this magnificent work of art, writing that he would gladly give ten years of his life to sit in front of the painting for two weeks, eating nothing but a crust of stale bread. Although modern viewers may need a little more sustenance, the power of the image remains.
At the center of a horizontally oriented canvas, a woman wearing a luxurious red dress stands with her wrists and neck adorned with pearls. Her companion stands to her right, one arm extending behind her, the other reaching out to place a hand on her chest. He is equally richly dressed, wearing a vertically pleated garment over a shirt in shades of gold and brown.
The fingers of her left hand rest gently on his in a protective, moving gesture. Despite the intimacy of their gesture, the two figures do not look at each other or at the viewer. They are alone in this moment, beside an arch and a potted plant barely suggested in shades of dark, mottled brown.
To avoid being killed and having his wife captured by King Abimelech, Isaac concealed his love for Rebecca by pretending that they were brother and sister. However, their intimacy betrayed them when they thought no one was watching. Rembrandt depicts them in a tender moment. He also works with exceptional freedom, applying the paint thickly and scoring it with the tip of his brush.