Lot Essay
The 20 portraits of Dutch, Flemish and German artists belong to a series of 155 portraits that were originally set in a brown coloured cabinet with drawers offered for sale at the auction held at the artist's house in Rotterdam two years after his death ("een fraaije verzameling pourtraiten van Hoog- en Nederduitsche Konst-Schilders en Schilderessen, ... in een aangenaame graauwachtige Couleer, ... gelegen in een bruin bonte Kabinetje met 16 laadjes, in welke dezelven alle naar den rang hunner geboorte geplaatst zijn", op.cit, p.27). The cabinet was not sold and stayed, as is claimed by Van der Eynden and Van der Willigen, op.cit, p.183, with the artist's descendants for a long period. As is reported by Benisovich, op.cit, p.192 (without evidence), they were reoffered in 1940s in New York. The cabinet had by then disappeared, but the dispersal of the 155 portraits occurred after this sale. In recent years several of the portraits have reappeared on the art market.
Six (Hans Sebald Becham, Hans Vredeman de Vries, David Jorisz, Joost Maurer, Rogier van der Weyden, Michael Wohlgemut) were offered at Christie's New York, 4 April 1990, lot 72, as Flemish School; five (Sir Anthony van Dyck, Hans Holbein the Younger, Frans Hals, Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt) at Christie's New York, 21 May 1992, lot 116, as Jan Stolker; and two (Justus Sustermans and Visser) at Sotheby's New York, 19 January 1995, lot 180, as Dutch School, 19th century.
Since the portrait of Breenbergh of the present series is not listed in the catalogue of 1786, it is likely that some were not properly catalogued at that time. As Benisovich suggested (p.194) the original number might have been 160 instead of 155, since the cabinet counted 16 drawers.
As was already observed by Van der Eynden and Van der Willigen Stolker's series can be considered as an artistic equivalent of the series of authors painted by Arnout van Haalen around 1720 known as the Panpoeticon Batavum now in the Rijksmuseum. Closer comparisons can be made with projects that concentrated on the physiognomies of artistic forebears, to which several 18th century Dutch artists dedicated themselves. Best known is probably the series on paper by Tako Hajo Jelgersma of Haarlem artists. Other practioneers of the genre were A.Schouman, J.Houbraken and J.Marcus. The largest collection was the series of copies by the amateur draftsman Cornelis van den Berg that was sold on 29 August 1775 (Lugt 2439). From the collector's side, the collection of the Leyden burgomaster Van der Marck is most relevant: he owned 97 painted portraits, 122 drawings and 440 engraved artist's physiognomies, offered for sale in 1773.
All these projects are early examples of an interest in history which aimed at documenting and celebrating the artist-heroes who had founded a local or national tradition. Stolker's cabinet, however, was unparalleled as an art historical monument because it was, unlike the other projects which were all on paper, a three-dimensional object and also because he had extended his compass to include all Northern painting.
Stolker found his prototypes from several series: the engraved portraits appeared in Domenicus Lampsonius's, Pictorum aliquot celebrum praecipicae Germania inferioris effigies, of which the first edition of 1572 was illustrated by 23 engravings of Wierix and Cornelis Cort and the edition of 1610 with 68 engraved portraits of Hendrick Hondius. Other illustrated biograhies that might have provided prototypes were Cornelis de Bie's, Het gulden kabinet, 1662, Houbraken's Groote Schouwburg, 1718-1721, Descamps's, La vie de peintres flamands, allemands, hollandais, 1753-63, the 1764 edition of Van Mander's Lives of Netherlandish painters and Sandrart's, Teutsche Academie in the edition of 1768. Sir Anthony van Dyck's Iconography, also provided prototypes for Stolker (e.g. Jan Snellinck and Jan Wildens from the series of the present lot).
Six (Hans Sebald Becham, Hans Vredeman de Vries, David Jorisz, Joost Maurer, Rogier van der Weyden, Michael Wohlgemut) were offered at Christie's New York, 4 April 1990, lot 72, as Flemish School; five (Sir Anthony van Dyck, Hans Holbein the Younger, Frans Hals, Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt) at Christie's New York, 21 May 1992, lot 116, as Jan Stolker; and two (Justus Sustermans and Visser) at Sotheby's New York, 19 January 1995, lot 180, as Dutch School, 19th century.
Since the portrait of Breenbergh of the present series is not listed in the catalogue of 1786, it is likely that some were not properly catalogued at that time. As Benisovich suggested (p.194) the original number might have been 160 instead of 155, since the cabinet counted 16 drawers.
As was already observed by Van der Eynden and Van der Willigen Stolker's series can be considered as an artistic equivalent of the series of authors painted by Arnout van Haalen around 1720 known as the Panpoeticon Batavum now in the Rijksmuseum. Closer comparisons can be made with projects that concentrated on the physiognomies of artistic forebears, to which several 18th century Dutch artists dedicated themselves. Best known is probably the series on paper by Tako Hajo Jelgersma of Haarlem artists. Other practioneers of the genre were A.Schouman, J.Houbraken and J.Marcus. The largest collection was the series of copies by the amateur draftsman Cornelis van den Berg that was sold on 29 August 1775 (Lugt 2439). From the collector's side, the collection of the Leyden burgomaster Van der Marck is most relevant: he owned 97 painted portraits, 122 drawings and 440 engraved artist's physiognomies, offered for sale in 1773.
All these projects are early examples of an interest in history which aimed at documenting and celebrating the artist-heroes who had founded a local or national tradition. Stolker's cabinet, however, was unparalleled as an art historical monument because it was, unlike the other projects which were all on paper, a three-dimensional object and also because he had extended his compass to include all Northern painting.
Stolker found his prototypes from several series: the engraved portraits appeared in Domenicus Lampsonius's, Pictorum aliquot celebrum praecipicae Germania inferioris effigies, of which the first edition of 1572 was illustrated by 23 engravings of Wierix and Cornelis Cort and the edition of 1610 with 68 engraved portraits of Hendrick Hondius. Other illustrated biograhies that might have provided prototypes were Cornelis de Bie's, Het gulden kabinet, 1662, Houbraken's Groote Schouwburg, 1718-1721, Descamps's, La vie de peintres flamands, allemands, hollandais, 1753-63, the 1764 edition of Van Mander's Lives of Netherlandish painters and Sandrart's, Teutsche Academie in the edition of 1768. Sir Anthony van Dyck's Iconography, also provided prototypes for Stolker (e.g. Jan Snellinck and Jan Wildens from the series of the present lot).