Artemis, Queen of Pergamus, prepares to drink the ashes of her dead husband, Mausolus, from a goblet offered her by a servant. In the background, the figure of an enigmatic old woman is just visible in the darkness.

This work has also been interpreted as a representation of Sophonisba drinking the poison sent by her husband from prision to help her avoid becoming the victim of Scipio Africanus’ concupiscence.

In either case, the subject is faithfulness and conjugal love, which would seem to indicate that the artist is alluding to his marriage to Saskia van Utylenbroch, which took place the same year that he signed this painting.

It was made in Rembrandt’s period of maximum productivity. His use of directed light brings out the figure over a black background. This tenebrist technique was developed by Caravaggio (1573-1610), but Rembrandt learned it from his own teacher, Peter Lastman (1583-1633).

In 1769, Carlos III acquired the painting from the collection of the Marquis of la Ensenada.