Hendrick Pothoven (1726-1807)
Hendrick Pothoven (1726-1807)

A family portrait: a gentleman and his wife seated small full lengths by a table in an interior; he wearing dark costume with lace chemise and wig; she wearing a blue silk dress with pearl necklace, holding a fan; a miniature portrait of their deceased son on the table nearby, a view on the garden beyond

Details
Hendrick Pothoven (1726-1807)
A family portrait: a gentleman and his wife seated small full lengths by a table in an interior; he wearing dark costume with lace chemise and wig; she wearing a blue silk dress with pearl necklace, holding a fan; a miniature portrait of their deceased son on the table nearby, a view on the garden beyond
signed HPothoven (HP linked) lower left
oil on canvas laid down on panel
87.4 x 77.6 cm

Lot Essay

The present lot is a characteristic "conversation piece", as it developed in the 18th Century and whose major exponents were Cornelis Troost, Tibout Regters, Hieronymus Lapis and later on Wybrand Hendriks and Adriaen de Lelie. As related by A. Staring the term conversation piece was used for family group portraits with the sitters depicted small full lengths in their domestic surroundings. For inspiration, the 18th Century artists turned to 17th Century prototypes, most notably by Gonzales Coques, Gillis van Tilborch, Pieter de Hooch, Gabriel Metsu and Gerard ter Borch. The family in the present lot has not been identified, but it was probably an Amsterdam merchant, since Pothoven was the most important portraitist in that city in the second half of the 18th Century. It is probably to be dated to circa 1775 on the basis of comparison with the picture, signed and dated 1774 in the Amsterdams Historisch Museum (inv. no. A 22795). The room in which the couple is seated is probably the house's drawing room, which was situated on the bel-tage on the sunny side of the house with the view on the garden. The window is a large format sliding window, an 18th Century invention.

See illustration

More from Dutch Interior sale

View All
View All