Hammer Museum

Juno

Juno is the most commanding of a group of large-scale female subjects Rembrandt undertook in his last years. The wife of Jupiter, king of the gods, Juno was particularly associated with marriage and wealth. Here the artist employed an imposing frontal pose that creates an effect of calm majesty, which is reinforced by her widely spaced large eyes and even illumination over her face and bodice. As he often did, Rembrandt allowed the dark underpaint to remain slightly visible around the eyes while adding strong white highlights to the center of the forehead and the end of the nose. Light marvelously illuminates Juno’s right arm, scepter, and peacock from behind, and glitters off her gold crown, pearls, and jeweled brooch.