Ritratto di una giovane donna con ventaglio

Rembrandt was in his mid-20s and newly arrived in Amsterdam when he painted this in 1633, and portrait commissions from wealthy couples were making his name. She is only half of the picture. Her husband hangs in Cincinnati now, painted the same year, rising from his chair as if he has just caught her eye across the two frames. Set side by side, the pair seem to turn toward each other, an unusually lively idea for a married portrait then. She wears a black silk gown with slashed sleeves, a triple lace collar, and pearls at her ears, throat and both wrists. The two halves came apart on the art market long ago and now sit an ocean apart.