The girls were all talking at once, each wanting to know more about their names. Grandma raised her hand to settle the girls down. She noticed Saskia did not seem to be curious about her name. "Child, do you not want to know about someone that shares your name from the past?" Saskia spoke in a low voice, "My mother likes the famous painter Rembrandt, so she named me after his wife. She was no one important." Shaking her head, Grandma said, "Now that is a name to be proud of. Rembrandt's wife was very important."

My name is Saskia van Uylenburgh. I was born in 1612. My parents were wealthy and my father was the Burgemeester or, in English, the Mayor of Leeuwarden. Leeuwarden was a large city in Northern Holland. When I was growing up I met a lot of rich and important business people. I was very friendly and these people trusted me. When I was older I married a Dutch painter named Rembrandt van Rijn. He was a very good painter but many people did not know it. I introduced him to merchants and art dealers, and showed them Rembrandt's beautiful paintings. I helped my husband in many ways. I would pose for some of his paintings, sitting still for hours at a time. I made deals with the business people I had known before so that he could keep painting. Rembrandt became very famous and many people wanted him to paint for them, I recently introduced him to some merchants who want a large portrait of themselves. Rembrandt is calling it "The Nachtwacht" or in English "The Nightwatch". He works on it daily and it is starting to look very good.