Notes

During his lifetime, Rembrandt’s extraordinary skills as a printmaker were the main source of his international fame. Unlike his oil paintings, prints travelled light and were relatively cheap. For this reason, they soon became very popular with collectors not only within but also beyond the borders of the Netherlands, and it also explains why they were affordable to collectors through the centuries.

The Pancake Woman exemplifies Rembrandt’s observation of daily life. The scene includes closely observed details, such as the child on the right who gazes thoughtfully into the frying pan and the toddler in the foreground holding his pancake out of reach of a hungry dog who chases him.

In Rembrandt’s time, pancake women were a familiar subject in art. Here, however, the scene’s liveliness gives the impression that the artist actually saw this woman on the street.

A fascinating glimpse into everyday Dutch life is shown here with this genre etching. Our elderly heroine is hard at work, preparing food for the light-hearted crowd that surrounds her. She appears diligent and tired; her posture and expression are evident of these characteristics, which Rembrandt cleverly translates through his etched detail and shading technique. Children scurry around her feet as onlookers eagerly hover over her shoulders. The pancake woman hunches over, frowning in concentration. Rembrandt clearly highlights her as the subject of this work, adding an immense amount of detail to her appearance so that she appears to pop out from the crowd around her. In the foreground a pancake-loving dog attempts to snatch the pancake from the hands of a toddler, who jealously guards it.

This impression is the second of seven states (the first two were by Rembrandt).