An Old an and an Old Woman Conversing by Rembrandt

During his early years in Leiden, Rembrandt executed single figure studies from live models in red and/or black chalk, usually on a relatively large scale. He also created a few drawings of smaller figures in a highly original, free and sketchy technique.

After settling in Amsterdam in 1632, Rembrandt further developed this loose and spontaneous manner in hundreds of quick pen sketches of single figures from virtually all walks of daily life - women and children, actors, tradesmen, the elderly or infirm, beggars and the poor. This drawing depicts that an older man and woman in a long cloak leans heavily on a stick converse.