# The Actor Willem Bartholsz Ruyter as a Peasant

- By: Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden, 1606–1669)
- Date: c. 1638
- Medium: deck paint, prepared paper, ink
- Classification: drawing
- Dimensions: height 139 mm x width 174 mm
- Museum: [Rijksmuseum](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/RP-T-1996-6--f9495affb9e79f0d7711b3d749307703)
- Rights: [Public Domain Mark](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)
- Picture: https://iiif.micr.io/wxHac/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Willem Bartholsz Ruyter (1587-1639) was a famous actor in Amsterdam. One drawing shows him as King Ahasuerus, who has just heard from his Jewish wife, Esther, that his confidant Haman had ordered the death of all Jews. In the second study, he wears the costume of a country yokel who was the central figure in popular farces called ‘boertigheden’.