Portret van Hendrik Spilman

About this artwork

plaatrand: hoogte 178 mm x breedte 139 mm

Art Historical Context

**Portret van Hendrik Spman** by Pieter Lou (1743–1800) offers a glimpse into 18th-century portraiture. This modest yet precise work captures the likeness of Hendrik Spilman a figure from the Netherlands' vibrant cultural scene during a time when portrait prints commemorated merchants, scholars, and civic leaders. Louw, active in the late Enlightenment era, contributed to a tradition where such images preserved personal and social histories for posterity. Crafted on paper with plate dimensions of 178 mm high by 139 mm wide—as noted in the detailed "plaatrand" description—this piece highlights...

About the Artist

Pieter Louw · 1725–1800

Pieter Louw (1725–1800) was a Dutch painter-engraver who achieved recognition primarily for his accomplished mezzotint reproductions of old master paintings. Born in October 1725 in Amsterdam and dying in March 1800 in the same city, Louw's career spanned the full breadth of the 18th century, a period when reproductive printmaking played a crucial cultural role in disseminating knowledge of painti...