Portret van Johan Rudolf Thorbecke
Medium
etching
Dimensions
268; 215
About this artwork
height 268 mm x width 215 mm
Art Historical Context
This etching, created by Dutch artist Petrus Johannes Arendzen in 1876, captures Johan Rudolf Thorbecke, one of the Netherlands’ most influential statesmen of the nineteenth century. Thorbecke served multiple terms as prime minister and played a pivotal role in drafting the liberal constitution of 1848, which expanded civil liberties and parliamentary power. Produced four years after Thorbecke’s death, the print likely served as a commemorative tribute, preserving his dignified likeness for public appreciation. Arendzen worked primarily in etching, a medium prized during the Victorian era for...
About the Artist
Petrus Johannes Arendzen · 1855–1935
Petrus Johannes Arendzen (1846–1932) was a Dutch etcher, draughtsman, and painter who dedicated his career to creating reproductive etchings of Dutch paintings in English collections while living in England from 1873 onward. Born in Amsterdam in 1846, Arendzen married Epiphania, daughter of Johan Stracké, and left his native city to pursue a unique commission from the Dutch Government: to copy the...