Although this famous work by Rembrandt from 1667 is commonly known as The Jewish Bride, it is in fact uncertain what exactly it depicts. The painting owes its name to a Dutch nineteenth-century art dealer, Adriaan van der Hoop, who assumed that it shows a Jewish father hanging a necklace around the neck of his daughter on her wedding day. Today, this assumption is considered to be implausible, and the most widely accepted hypothesis is that it depicts the well-known biblical couple Isaac and Rebecca. Quite often, married couples chose to have themselves portrayed as historical figures, a so-called portrait historié. The theory is supported by a sketch by Rembrandt and similar works with the same theme by contemporary Amsterdam painters.
Rembrandt caught the intimacy between the two in a penetrating, yet identifiable manner. The expressive painting style, characteristic of the mature Rembrandt, stands out: thick layers of paint were smeared onto the canvas in order to render the particular texture of the clothing, with remarkable results. The paint on the sleeve of the man is applied so thickly that it reflects the light, an effect that contributes significantly to the persuasiveness of the scene.
This daring working method could, given the standards of Rembrandt's time, surely be considered modern.This quality did not escape Rembrandts compatriot Vincent van Gogh. Roughly two centuries later, Van Gogh stated, after seeing The Jewish Bride in Amsterdam: ‘I should be happy to give 10 years of my life if I could go on sitting here in front of this picture for a fortnight, with only a crust of dry bread for food.’
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