Jacobus Houbraken (25 December 1698 – 14 November 1780) was a Dutch engraver and the son of the artist and biographer Arnold Houbraken (1660–1719), whom he assisted in producing a published record of the lives of artists from the Dutch Golden Age.

Biography

Jacobus was born in

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

, and learned the art of engraving from his father. In 1707 he moved to Amsterdam, where for years he helped his father with his ''magnum opus'', his art historical work ''

The Great Theatre of Dutch Painters ''The Great Theatre of Dutch Painters and Paintresses'', or ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'', as it was originally known in Dutch, is a series of artist biographies with engraved portraits written by the 1 ...

'' (1718–1721). When his father died he assisted his mother with the last proofs of the manuscript before publishing. With this project he started his portraits of Netherlandish celebrities, that are today in many cases the ''only'' likenesses left of these people. He was influenced by studying the works of

Cornelis Cort Cornelis Cort (c. 1533 – c. 17 March 1578) was a Dutch engraver and draughtsman. He spent the last 12 years of his life in Italy, where he was known as ''Cornelio Fiammingo''. Biography Born in Hoorn or Edam, Cort may have been a pupil of ...

, Jonas Suyderhoef, Gerard Edelinck and the Visschers. He died, aged 81, in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

Works

Houbraken devoted himself almost entirely to

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

ure. His work became famous through his collaboration with the historian

Thomas Birch Thomas Birch (23 November 17059 January 1766) was an English historian. Life He was the son of Joseph Birch, a coffee-mill maker, and was born at Clerkenwell. He preferred study to business but, as his parents were Quakers, he did not go to t ...

and artist

George Vertue George Vertue (1684 – 24 July 1756) was an English engraver and antiquary, whose notebooks on British art of the first half of the 18th century are a valuable source for the period. Life Vertue was born in 1684 in St Martin-in-the-Fields, ...

, on the project entitled, ''Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain'', published in parts in London from 1743 to 1752. After that, during the years 1752–59 he worked with the historian

Jan Wagenaar Jan Wagenaar (25 October 1709 – 1 March 1773) was a Dutch historian, best known for his contributions to ''Tegenwoordige staat van nederland'' and ''Vaderlandsche Historie''. Biography Wagenaar was born in Amsterdam to a Mennonite master ...

(1709–1773) on his 21 part ''Vaderlandsche historie'', working for the publisher Isaac Tirion in Amsterdam. With this project of biographies of celebrated figures, he annotated his work with notes about the original paintings. Among his best works are scenes from the comedy of "De Ontdekte Schijndeugd", executed in his eightieth year, after

Cornelis Troost __NOTOC__ Cornelis Troost (8 October 1696 – 7 March 1750) was an 18th-century actor and painter from Amsterdam. Troost was trained as an actor and married the actress Susanna Maria van der Duyn, but became a pupil of Arnold Boonen and g ...

, who was called by his countrymen the Dutch Hogarth. Houbraken also engraved the portraits for

Jan van Gool Johan, or Jan van Gool (1685–1763), was a Dutch painter and writer from The Hague, now remembered mainly as a biographer of artists from the Dutch Golden Age. Life Jan van Gool was a pupil of Simon van der Does and Mattheus Terwesten.

's ''Nieuwe schouburg der Nederlantsche kunstschilders'' (Den Haag, 1750–51).

Legacy

His oeuvre of more than 400 portrait engravings form an important record for art provenance. His portraits were often set in an oval frame, with a subtitle with the subject's claim to fame. Under that in small letters, he placed his notes about the original oil portrait. Some examples: File:Jacob Dircksz de Graeff, Gravur von Jacobus Houbraken.jpg, J. Houbraken fecit na't Schilderij by de WelEd:Gestr:Hr.Mr. G. de Graeff, Schepen en Raad der Stad Amsterdam. File:Willem Graaf van Nassau. Engraving by Jacobus Houbraken 570006.jpg, Miereveld pinx. Schouman del. J. Houbraken fecit File:Kenau simons hasselaer jacob houbraken 1760.JPG, H. Pothoven del. naar eene Schilderij by den Hr. Burg.r Hasselaer J. Houbraken fecit File:Willem Buys.jpg, A. Schoumen del. naar't Origineel in de Familie J. Houbraken fec File:Roelof Bicker by Jacobus Houbraken.JPG, B. van der Helst

pinxit (from Latin: "one painted") is a stylized amendment added to the signature depiction of the name of the person responsible for a work of art, found conventionally in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It is sometimes abbreviated ''P'', ''P ...

J. Houbraken sculpsit, Oud 82 jaar H. Pothoven del. na't Originele Schilderij, waar in dezelve voorkomt als Kapitein der Burgerij, berustend op de Krijgsraadskamer van't Stadhuis te Amsterdam. File:Joanna Koerten.jpg, Portrait of the Amsterdam artist

Joanna Koerten Joanna Koerten, (married name Joanna Block) (17 November 1650 in Amsterdam – 28 December 1715 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch artist who excelled in painting, drawing, embroidery, glass etching, and wax modeling. She achieved fame as a silhouette ...

, (1650–1715) File:Samuel Coster 1579-1665 Erfgoedcentrum Rozet 300 191 d 2 A-10.jpg,

Samuel Coster Samuel Coster (1 September 1579, Amsterdam – 1665) was a Dutch playwright. Coster was the fifth child of Adriaen Lennaertz, sexton and carpenter, and Aeltgen Jansd. By around 1605, he was a member of the Amsterdam rederijkerskamer "De Eglan ...

(1579–1665)

References

* *Ver Huell, A., ''Jacobus Houbraken et son œuvre'' (Arnhem, 1875), includes a full description of 120 engraved works.

External links

National Portrait Gallery – Person – Jacobus Houbraken
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houbraken, Jacobus 1698 births 1780 deaths Engravers from Amsterdam Portrait engravers Artists from Dordrecht 18th-century Dutch artists