Who were Geertje Dirckx and Hendrickje Stoffels in Rembrandt’s life?

Following the death of his wife, Saskia, the Dutch artist Rembrandt became involved with two women who served as his housekeepers and companions.1

• Geertje Dirckx: Initially hired to nurse Rembrandt’s son, Titus, she became the artist's housekeeper and entered into an intimate relationship with him. Their association ended in legal turmoil after she claimed he had promised to marry her and pawned jewelry belonging to Saskia’s inheritance. In 1650, Rembrandt arranged for her confinement in a house of correction in Gouda, where she remained until 1655.1

• Hendrickje Stoffels: A young woman from Gelderland, she succeeded Dirckx as housekeeper in 1649 and eventually became Rembrandt’s common-law wife. Although she bore him a child and remained with him until her death in 1663, legal complications regarding Titus’s inheritance prevented the couple from legally marrying.1