Bedroom with Saskia in a Canopy Bed, Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1638
Rembrandt’s wife, Saskia, sits upright in a canopy bed with heavy curtains. She looks pallid and is probably pregnant, given the nursing couch on the ground. These were usually made of wicker and had a cushion against which the woman could lean when nursing a baby. Saskia is probably pregnant with their first daughter, Cornelia, who lived only three weeks from July 1638.