The Shipbuilder and his Wife

At this relatively early date, Rembrandt was accomplished at depicting the natural surfaces of wood, leather, skin, and hair, and he had become a fashionable portrait painter.

Rijcksen is shown seated at a desk, where he has been making drawings of ship designs, holding a pair of compasses; his wife has just entered the room to hand her husband a written note.

The drawing of a ship shown in the painting bears the signature and date: "Rembrandt.

It was imported to England and sold at Christie's in London in 1811 to the Prince Regent (later King George IV) and remains in the Royal Collection.

The oil on canvas painting measures 113.8 by 169.8 centimetres (44.8 in × 66.9 in) but it may have been cut down from a larger work: an early etching dated 1800 shows more space above the sitters' heads.