Rembrandt’s beloved
Hendrickje Stoffels or Hendrickje Jegers (Bredevoort, 1626 – Amsterdam, July 1663) was a domestic servant and art dealer. For a period, she was the official employer of the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn. She was also Rembrandt’s romantic partner, the mother of one of his three daughters (all of whom were named Cornelia), and possibly one of his models.
Hendrickje Stoffels was born in Bredevoort in 1626 as the daughter of Stoffel Stoffelse and Mechteld Lamberts and grew up in the Muizenstraat. Her father was a sergeant under a captain from the Ploos van Amstel family. Stoffel was also a hunter for the castle at Bredevoort and was therefore also called Jeger. In common parlance, his children were called ‘Jegers’, but in official documents they were always referred to as ‘Stoffels’ (meaning son or daughter of Stoffel).
Hendrickje had one sister and three brothers: Martijne Jegers, Hermen, Berent, and Frerick. She may also have had a sister named Margriete.
Hendrickje’s father almost certainly passed away in July 1646, possibly as an unidentified victim of the gunpowder tower explosion in Bredevoort. It was likely due to this event that Hendrickje left for Amsterdam.
Rembrandt’s partner
From that time on, Hendrickje entered service as a maid for the already famous painter Rembrandt van Rijn, in what is now the Rembrandt House on Jodenbreestraat in Amsterdam. On July 16, 1649, Hendrickje was back in Bredevoort; she is mentioned as a baptismal witness in the Bredevoort Baptismal Register. It is possible that Rembrandt made the journey to Bredevoort with her. This may be evidenced by several etchings by Rembrandt from 1649 and 1650, the locations of which are unknown.
Later, Hendrickje became Rembrandt’s partner, and in 1654 they had a daughter together, Cornelia. In 1658, she started an art shop together with Titus, Rembrandt’s son from his earlier marriage to Saskia van Uylenburgh, where they sold paintings, drawings, copper engravings, woodcuts, and curiosities.
There are several paintings and prints by Rembrandt in which Hendrickje Stoffels is recognized. However, there is no single documented image of her. Furthermore, some experts believe that the portraits identified as Stoffels exhibit a wide variety of facial features. In any case, there are a number of works by Rembrandt from the period in which Stoffels lived with him that possibly depict the same woman.
In 1663, a plague epidemic struck Amsterdam. Hendrickje Stoffels was likely also fatally affected by this disease, as she died in July of that year. She was buried on July 24, 1663, in a rented grave in the Westerkerk in Amsterdam.
Statue on ‘t Zand
On ‘t Zand in Bredevoort stands a statue of Hendrickje Stoffels, created by sculptor G.J.F. (Truus) Doodeheefver-Kremer. Before creating the statue on ‘t Zand, the artist conducted research, including at the Rijksmuseum, and chose to depict Hendrickje around the age of twenty, the period when she left Bredevoort for Amsterdam. The statue was unveiled on July 7, 1977.
