In Praise of a Parrot

The description of this painting in the "Late Rembrandt" exhibition in the Rijksmuseum reads: "By all accounts Cathrina Hooghsaet was an independent and spirited woman. When she commissioned this portrait of herself from Rembrandt, she was living apart from her second husband, preferring the company of her pet parrot." (Said parrot is visible in the shadows if you look closely.)