Kwartierstaat met de wapens van de zestien kwartieren van Margaretha Rendorp 1700 - 1749

This family tree with the sixteen quarterings of Margaretha Rendorp was created by an anonymous artist, using paint on panel. The overall tone is sepia, giving it an aged, almost dreamlike quality. The heraldic crests, rendered in muted reds, blacks and golds, are meticulously arranged. The structure of the piece is rigidly hierarchical, with the subject, Margaretha, anchoring the base. Ascending from her are the branches of her lineage, each shield a signifier, a visual code that speaks to dynastic heritage and social status. The symmetrical layout suggests a preoccupation with order and control, mirroring the societal structures of the time. Above, cherubic figures bearing a crest float above the family tree, which creates a contrast between the earthly and the divine, the mortal and the eternal. This visual element underscores the aspiration to transcend the limitations of earthly existence through lineage and legacy. The artwork operates within a semiotic system of signs and symbols, inviting us to decode the intricate layers of meaning embedded within its formal structure.