Portret van de predikant Jacobus Groeneveld

About this artwork

verzamelaarsmerk, verso, gestempeld: Lugt 2760

Art Historical Context

Step into the refined world of 18th-century portraiture with *Portret van de predik Jacobus Groeneveld (Portrait of the Preacher Jacob Groeneveld), an engraving by Charles Howard Hodges 1795. Hodges, a British artist who settled in Amsterdam, was celebrated for his meticulous reproductive engravings after paintings by masters like Rembrandt and Reynolds. This intimate work, measuring just 200 × 147 mm, captures dignified likeness of Groeneveld, a Dutch Reformed predikant (minister), reflecting the era's reverence for religious and intellectual figures amid the Enlightenment's intellectual fervor. Engraving, Hodges' specialty, involved incising fine lines into a copper plate with a burin, creating rich tonal contrasts through ink pressed onto paper. This technique allowed for precise detail in facial features, clothing, and expression, making portraits like this affordable and widely distributable—ideal for collectors, admirers, or biographical albums in the burgeoning print culture of the Dutch Republic's final years. On the verso, a collector's mark stamped Lugt 2760 authenticates its provenance, linking it to a distinguished European collection and underscoring its enduring cultural value. This small gem offers a window into late-18th-century Dutch society, where faith and portraiture intertwined to immortalize community leaders.

About the Artist

Charles Howard Hodges · 1764–1837

Comment on works: Portraits; Engraver