Mater Dolorosa

Rembrandt van Rijn portrays the Mater Dolorosa, the grieving Virgin Mary contemplating Christ's suffering. Her aged face, wet with tears, expresses profound sorrow with psychological intensity rare in religious painting.

Rembrandt's religious works emphasize human emotion over idealized beauty. His Baroque mastery of light and shadow focuses attention on Mary's weathered features and grief-stricken expression. This painting resides at the National Gallery in London.