Margarthe van Clootwijk, Wife of Jacob van Dalen

The sitters of this painting and its pendant were identified as Jacob van Dael (or Dalen; 1570-1644), and his second wife, Margaretha van Clootwijk (c. 1580-1662). Jacob van Dalen was professionally known by the Latinized form of his name, Vallensis. He was born in Speyer, Germany, studied medicine in Leiden, and became the personal physician of the Stadholder in The Hague. He appears in a group portrait painted twenty-three years earlier, the Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Willem van der Meer.

Both husband and wife are buried in the Oude Kerk in Delft, and the gravestone of the couple bears the same crests as the paintings in the Metropolitan Museum.