Rembrandt's Polemical Erotica

While the first image seems to play on the previous era's Protestant propaganda--featuring a monk and a woman hiding perhaps not so discreetly in a cornfield with her sandals shaken off--the second is a scene widely interpreted as a depiction of Rembrandt with his mistress, Hendrickje Soeffels, who he lived with after the death of his wife and loved dearly.

Rembrandt, Monk in a Cornfield, c. 1646

Rembrandt, The Bed, c. 1646

The second print was also probably not meant for public view given not only the subject matter but also the fact that the woman has three hands. Look closely!