Erik Löffler | RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History) (original) (raw)
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Eighteenth-century Drawings in the Collections of the RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History... more Eighteenth-century Drawings in the Collections of the RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History
Collecting ‘originals’ was never a task of the rkd. The approximately 50,000 prints and several thousands of drawings in its collections were acquired as documentation (for example of the paintings they reproduce). They became originals only later, as a consequence of shifting definitions. The majority of the drawings (all dating from after 1800) belong to archives, such as that of the enterprise Bonebakker & Zoon (jewellery and silverware, ca. 5300 works on paper). The rkd owns only a few dozen original drawings from before 1700;
the estimated number dating from the eighteenth century (the subject of this essay) is about 300. A recent acquisition of the Department of Portrait Iconography, a watercolour by Aletta de Freij, depicts the wife of the painter Frans van Mieris the Elder (fig. 1). It was transferred from the Utrecht Municipal Archive, where it had been acquired due to misidentification of the sitter. A drawing by Delfos in the Department of Dutch and Flemish Old Master Drawings and Prints (fig. 2) is also after a painting – in this case by Caspar Netscher – now in the Wallace Collection. Delfos was an art dealer and we know that he
auctioned the original canvas. In this same department, a drawing by Hans Jacob Huslij (fig. 3) was only recently identified as a preparatory composition for a still extant ceiling in Amsterdam. The connections between our various collections are many. One interesting example is the self-portrait from 1799 of Derk Anthony van de Wart, with a dedication poem (Department of Portrait Iconography; fig. 4). The Department of Dutch and Flemish Old Master Drawings holds an allegorical page from an album amicorum by Joseph Schwachhofer, also with a dedication and dated 1812. The two artists had parallel careers
in Amsterdam in about 1800. They were mentioned together among the main pupils of Jacques Kuyper and participated in the same artistic competitions. An interesting example from the Department of Topography is a drawing attributed to Jacobus Stellingwerff (fig. 5), which appears to be a falsification from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. From a documentary point of view this only augments its interest for our collections. In the past our ‘originals’ were not kept separately. Given that it is not yet possible to search all our collections systematically, it is probable that many more exciting discoveries await us.
1. Joseph Schwachhofer, Allegorie op Josephus Augustinus Brentano als beschermer van de kunsten, ... more 1. Joseph Schwachhofer, Allegorie op Josephus Augustinus Brentano als beschermer van de kunsten, grafiet, pen en penseel in zwart en grijs, 111 x 173 mm, gesigneerd en gedateerd verso: "J. Schwachhofer inv: / Amsterd. 1812", coll. RKD. Foto RKD.
De Nederlandse kastelen en adellijke huizen zijn door de eeuwen heen vaak gewijzigd, herbouwd, of... more De Nederlandse kastelen en adellijke huizen zijn door de eeuwen heen vaak gewijzigd, herbouwd, of definitief vervallen tot ruïne. Hun vroegere voorkomen is ons in veel gevallen toch bekend, dankzij kunstenaars en amateurs die ze steeds weer in beeld hebben gebracht. De manier waarop dat gebeurde, is nauw verbonden met de ontwikkeling van de topografische kunst. 1 Het aantal topografische voorstellingen dat in Nederland is vervaardigd in de vorm van schilderijen, prenten, en tekeningen loopt in de honderdduizenden. De werken van beroemde meesters zijn vanwege hun artistieke waarde over de hele wereld verspreid geraakt maar de scheppingen van mindere kunstenaars, die vooral een documentaire waarde hebben, zijn meestal in Nederland gebleven. Het aantal topografische collecties was hier in vergelijking met andere landen uitzonderlijk groot.
Oud Holland - Quarterly for Dutch Art History, 2001
Oud Holland - Quarterly for Dutch Art History, 2008
Eighteenth-century Drawings in the Collections of the RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History... more Eighteenth-century Drawings in the Collections of the RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History
Collecting ‘originals’ was never a task of the rkd. The approximately 50,000 prints and several thousands of drawings in its collections were acquired as documentation (for example of the paintings they reproduce). They became originals only later, as a consequence of shifting definitions. The majority of the drawings (all dating from after 1800) belong to archives, such as that of the enterprise Bonebakker & Zoon (jewellery and silverware, ca. 5300 works on paper). The rkd owns only a few dozen original drawings from before 1700;
the estimated number dating from the eighteenth century (the subject of this essay) is about 300. A recent acquisition of the Department of Portrait Iconography, a watercolour by Aletta de Freij, depicts the wife of the painter Frans van Mieris the Elder (fig. 1). It was transferred from the Utrecht Municipal Archive, where it had been acquired due to misidentification of the sitter. A drawing by Delfos in the Department of Dutch and Flemish Old Master Drawings and Prints (fig. 2) is also after a painting – in this case by Caspar Netscher – now in the Wallace Collection. Delfos was an art dealer and we know that he
auctioned the original canvas. In this same department, a drawing by Hans Jacob Huslij (fig. 3) was only recently identified as a preparatory composition for a still extant ceiling in Amsterdam. The connections between our various collections are many. One interesting example is the self-portrait from 1799 of Derk Anthony van de Wart, with a dedication poem (Department of Portrait Iconography; fig. 4). The Department of Dutch and Flemish Old Master Drawings holds an allegorical page from an album amicorum by Joseph Schwachhofer, also with a dedication and dated 1812. The two artists had parallel careers
in Amsterdam in about 1800. They were mentioned together among the main pupils of Jacques Kuyper and participated in the same artistic competitions. An interesting example from the Department of Topography is a drawing attributed to Jacobus Stellingwerff (fig. 5), which appears to be a falsification from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. From a documentary point of view this only augments its interest for our collections. In the past our ‘originals’ were not kept separately. Given that it is not yet possible to search all our collections systematically, it is probable that many more exciting discoveries await us.
1. Joseph Schwachhofer, Allegorie op Josephus Augustinus Brentano als beschermer van de kunsten, ... more 1. Joseph Schwachhofer, Allegorie op Josephus Augustinus Brentano als beschermer van de kunsten, grafiet, pen en penseel in zwart en grijs, 111 x 173 mm, gesigneerd en gedateerd verso: "J. Schwachhofer inv: / Amsterd. 1812", coll. RKD. Foto RKD.
De Nederlandse kastelen en adellijke huizen zijn door de eeuwen heen vaak gewijzigd, herbouwd, of... more De Nederlandse kastelen en adellijke huizen zijn door de eeuwen heen vaak gewijzigd, herbouwd, of definitief vervallen tot ruïne. Hun vroegere voorkomen is ons in veel gevallen toch bekend, dankzij kunstenaars en amateurs die ze steeds weer in beeld hebben gebracht. De manier waarop dat gebeurde, is nauw verbonden met de ontwikkeling van de topografische kunst. 1 Het aantal topografische voorstellingen dat in Nederland is vervaardigd in de vorm van schilderijen, prenten, en tekeningen loopt in de honderdduizenden. De werken van beroemde meesters zijn vanwege hun artistieke waarde over de hele wereld verspreid geraakt maar de scheppingen van mindere kunstenaars, die vooral een documentaire waarde hebben, zijn meestal in Nederland gebleven. Het aantal topografische collecties was hier in vergelijking met andere landen uitzonderlijk groot.
Oud Holland - Quarterly for Dutch Art History, 2001
Oud Holland - Quarterly for Dutch Art History, 2008