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.

Portrait of a Woman, Frans Hals, c. 1635

oil on canvas, h 79.5cm × w 66.5cm More details

Compared with the dynamic Portrait of a Man, this one of his wife makes a somewhat more formal impression. The pose is traditional, with the upper torso turned slightly to the left. She looks straight at the viewer, her lips slightly parted as though she is about to speak. Her face is rendered in much thinner paint than that of her husband, beautifully suggesting the greater softness of a woman’s skin.