Saskia Breakfast
9 March 2026
8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Sunrise Breakfast at Saskia’s Grave with Rijksmuseum Curator Friso Lammertse.
Saskia Uylenburgh, wife and muse of Rembrandt van Rijn, was buried in the Oude Kerk in the summer of 1642. Each year on 9 March, at precisely nine minutes past half past eight in the morning, a beam of sunlight falls on her grave. We mark this special moment with a breakfast featuring Frisian sugar bread, along with a lecture and music. Friso Lammertse, Curator of 17th-Century Painting at the Rijksmuseum, will speak about Rembrandt’s use of chiaroscuro (light and dark) in the portraits he made of Saskia. This ties in with the exhibition by artist Minne Kersten.
Programme
07:45: Doors open
08:00: Breakfast begins
08:10: Welcome
08:39: Sunbeam on Saskia’s grave
08:50: Lecture by Friso Lammertse, Curator of 17th-Century Painting, Rijksmuseum
09:30: End
Rembrandt and Saskia in the Oude Kerk
The lives of Saskia Uylenburgh (1612–1642) and Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669) are closely intertwined with the history of the Oude Kerk. In the summer of 1634, Rembrandt signed their notice of marriage in the Mirror Room of the Oude Kerk. Saskia modelled for many of Rembrandt’s works, and the young couple lived only a stone’s throw from the church. During this period Rembrandt produced numerous etchings of the neighbourhood surrounding the Oude Kerk. In 1642, Saskia died of tuberculosis at the age of 29. She was buried in the Oude Kerk. Each year we celebrate Saskia with a special commemorative breakfast.
