# Minerva in her Study [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [REMBRANDT Harmenszoon van Rijn]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 137 x 116 cm ## Commentary <a href="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/database/glossary/note03.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=300,height=400'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return false">Catalogue number:</a> Bredius 469. Minerva, or Pallas Athena, was originally the goddess of war, but since the Renaissance she has represented the intellectual aspect of science and art by virtue of her wisdom. Rembrandt's Minerva, painted at the height of his powers, is both eloquent and formidable. This painting is part of a group of works depicting nearly life-size, half-length figures of goddesses and heroines from Antiquity which Rembrandt painted between 1633 and 1635. Included in this group are Bellona, Flora and Artemisia. We can observe in this series a search for a realistic way to represent the human body in space with the aid of light and shade. ## Related artworks - [A black drummer and commander mounted on mules; riding in profile]() - [A child being taught to walk]() - [A cottage beneath trees]() - [A girl sleeping]() - [A Man Laughing]() - [A man making water]() - [A Peddler Selling Spectacles \(The Allegory of Sight\)]() - [A Polish Nobleman]() - [A Scholar]() - [A two-humped camel]() - [A woman in Zeeland costume, from the back]() - [A woman in Zeeland costume, from the front]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()