JAN LIEVENS, WOMAN EMBRACED BY A MAN MODELED AFTER A YOUNG REMBRANDT, 1626-27 by Atelier Liesjes

The oil on canvas was painted in 1626-1627, when Lievens was only about 20 years old, yet already established as a full-fledged and commercially successful artist working in his native Leiden. Despite his youth, he rapidly developed into a highly skilled and inventive technician - so much so that he was largely considered more talented than his chief rival, Rembrandt.

Both artists, born in Leiden just over a year apart, studied under the same master and lived close to each other, but Rembrandt's posthumous fame as the greatest artist of the Dutch Golden Age left Lievens largely in the dark. The two artists certainly learned from each other, to the point that some contemporaries found their works difficult to distinguish. They also shared models - and even used each other as models in their compositions.

All in all, a sexy and sensually erotic picture with infatuation.

Jan Lievens (Leiden, October 24, 1607 - Amsterdam, June 4, 1674) was a Dutch painter and draughtsman who worked closely with Rembrandt van Rijn in his younger years. Stadholder Maurice of Nassau, prince of Orange, purchased a life-size painting by Lievens around 1620, which depicts a man reading by the light of burning peat. Through the English ambassador, the work came to King James I of England. As a result, he was invited to the English court at the age of 31.