An Intimate Friendship in Voorburg: Anna Maria Gool and Josina Clara van Citters

In 1875 Jonkheer Jacob de Witte van Citters (1817-1876), a lawyer in the service of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands in The Hague, bequeathed his collection of family portraits, which included three portraits by Godfried Schalcken (1643-1706), to the State.1 The first is of Josina Parduyn (1642-1718), the wife of Aernout van Citters (1633-1696), who among other things was a Supreme Court justice. The second portrait is of their daughter Josina Clara van Citters (1671-1753). Interestingly, the third portrait is not of a member of the family: the transfer documents concerning the bequest state that it is a portrait of ‘mejuffrouw van Gool’, with no fore name, who is referred to as Josina Clara’s companion. It is remarkable that a separate portrait was made of her, and that she and Josina Clara appear to be portrayed in a similar way. Who was this lady’s companion? Is this identification correct and what do we know about the two women and their assumed relationship?