Jaapgen Caerlsdr is 70 years old in this portrait. Hailing from a distinguished lineage, she was the daughter of a Leiden glazier. She probably sat for Rembrandt around 27 March 1635, when she served as a witness at her granddaughter’s baptism in Amsterdam. The diagonal placement of her upper body and the subtle use of shadows, for instance in the fold of the cap, contribute to her lifelike, almost three-dimensional appearance.