Study of a Woman’s Legs, Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1628 - c. 1629
red chalk, some areas deliberately rubbed with a finger or wet brush, with white chalk, h 226mm × w 176mm Catalogue entry
In order to make the figures in his paintings as convincing as possible, Rembrandt sometimes made individual studies of the human body. This splendid study of two legs can be connected with various paintings from Rembrandt’s early Leiden period. He succeeded in suggesting the surface of the skin and plasticity of the limbs with red chalk, moistened to give depth to shaded areas in places.
