Buste van Julius Caesar

About this artwork

collector's mark: Lugt 2228

Art Historical Context

This delicate paper work, created by Dutch artist Pieter Anthony Wakkerdak sometime between 1740 and 1774, presents a bust-length portrait of Julius Caesar. Rendered on a modest sheet measuring 242 by 190 millimeters, the drawing captures the Roman leader’s distinctive features—his laurel wreath, strong profile, and authoritative gaze—in a format that suggests either a preparatory study or a finished collector’s piece. The presence of the Lugt 2228 collector’s mark indicates it once belonged to a distinguished European collection, underscoring its value to later connoisseurs. Wakkerdak worked...

About the Artist

Pieter Anthony Wakkerdak · 1729–1774

Pieter Anthony Wakkerdak (1729–1774) was a Dutch printmaker, painter, draughtsman, publisher, and poet whose brief but productive career exemplified the versatility expected of 18th-century Dutch artists. Born on June 14, 1729, in Rotterdam and dying on November 28, 1774, in Delft at just forty-five years old, Wakkerdak worked across multiple media including mezzotint (black art), oil painting, en...