Artwork
Portrait of Margaretha Rendorp, Wife of Jan van de Poll

Portrait of Margaretha Rendorp, Wife of Jan van de Poll is an unspecified painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Adriaen van der Werff. It dates from 1692 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. The canvas presents a half‑length portrait of Margaretha Rendorj (1673–1730), shown standing within a stone‑framed window.
About this work
Overview
The canvas presents a half‑length portrait of Margaretha Rendorj (1673–1730), shown standing within a stone‑framed window. She wears a dark dress and holds a wreath of flowers in her right hand, while a landscaped garden with statues and a distant country house recedes behind her.
Subject & Meaning
Margaretha is identified as the wife of Jan van de Poll, a detail confirmed by the painting’s pairing with his portrait. The floral wreath may allude to her personal interests or status, though its precise symbolic intent remains undocumented.
Technique & Style
Executed with meticulous attention to texture, the work captures the sheen of fabric and the stone’s surface, creating a realistic, almost snapshot‑like quality. The composition balances the intimate figure against an expansive architectural backdrop, a common convention in late‑17th‑century Dutch portraiture.
History & Provenance
The portrait is part of a pendant set, its companion being the portrait of Jan van de Poll (catalogued as SK‑A‑1266). The artist’s identity is unknown, but the painting has been retained within the museum’s collection, documented alongside its counterpart.
Context
The setting reflects the affluent domestic environment of the Dutch mercantile class in the early 1700s, where country estates and landscaped gardens signified wealth. Such backdrops were frequently employed to convey the sitter’s social standing and connection to property.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Adriaen van der Werff (21 January 1659 – 12 November 1722) was a Dutch painter of portraits and erotic, devotional and mythological scenes.



















