Portrait of Maritge Claesdr Vooght (....-1644) by Frans Hals

Portrait of Maritge Claesdr Vooght, painted by Frans Hals in 1639, hangs in the Rijksmuseum. Hidden on the wall behind her is a heraldic crest that names her family, a detail most visitors scroll past.

Look at the gilded book in her hands, a marker of piety. Then scan the dark wall behind her. A heraldic crest identifies her lineage, and the year is painted into the wall: ANNO 1639.

In 1630s Haarlem, authorities restricted religious art in churches. The art market shifted to portraiture, and Hals was the most sought-after painter in town. Wealthy burghers commissioned him to be remembered.

Maritge died in 1644, five years after this sitting. The portrait outlived her by centuries, carrying her identity into the Rijksmuseum.