Saskia in Bed with a Nurse, 1635 by Rembrandt

All through his life Rembrandt's work as a draughtsman had a boldness which was coupled with a sense of refinement. In the drawing in Munich of Saskia in Bed with a Nurse, usually dated 1635 or rather later, both these characteristics are present. Saskia appears old and ill, which is the reason for suspecting that the drawing is rather nearer 1642, the date of her death. Great sweeps of the brush define the bed and the silhouetted figure of the nurse, while Saskia herself is drawn with great delicacy.