Portrait of Catharina Hooghsaet

Catalogue number: Bredius 391.

The sitter's name and age are inscribed on the canvas in a later hand, 'Catrina Hooghsaet/Out 50 Jaer' (ie. 50 years old). Catharina (Catrina) Hooghsaet (1607-1685) was the wife of a dyer, Hendrick Jacobsz. Rooleeuw, and Rembrandt may have painted his portrait too, although, if so, all trace of it has been lost. The couple were Mennonites, a flourishing Protestant sect to which Rembrandt also intermittently belonged. Among the restrictions the Mennonites, followers of the sixteenth-century Dutch divine, Menno Simons, imposed on themselves were a refusal to bear arms or hold public office. The sect was popular with artists and craftsmen, as by joining it they were able to escape the control exercised by the clergy over the lives of orthodox Calvinist citizens.

To judge from Catrina's clothes, which are relatively plain but of good quality, her husband was successful in his business. (The bleaching and dyeing of cloth were important Dutch industries.) The pair probably did not belong to the highest social class but Catrina acts almost as if she did. She sits confidently in her chair in a way that is both relaxed and animated, and a quizzical smile plays over her features. The handkerchief she holds in her hand supplies a touch of informality, as does the parrot perched on a ring hanging from the ceiling. Altogether this is a wonderful portrait, vigorous, crisp and surprisingly clear in lighting for its date.