I drew inspiration from the pleated white ruff bedecking the neck of the wealthy Amsterdam merchant’s daughter Johanna le Maire from c. 1622.

My love for metal and for the harmony of geometric shapes helped me treat metal like fabric, folding it in pleats that rest against each other gently like waves in a calm sea. These metal pleats form a fixed circle, which embraces, brightens and adorns the person wearing my ruff jewellery.

Portraits of Rogier Le Witer and his Wife, Catharina Behaghel, Jacob Jordaens (I), 1635

oil on canvas, h 152cm × w 118cm More details

Jordaens portrayed the Antwerp merchant Rogier Le Witer and his wife, Catharina Behaghel, against a sumptuous background. As Grand Almoner of Antwerp, Le Witer was responsible for collecting charitable gifts for prisoners. On the table is a reference to this function, an offering plate with the inscription ‘[A]lemos[e] 1623’, the year in which Le Witer took up this office.