Antique Print – JOANES MUNNEKEMOLEN-AALSMEER-KING WILLIAM I-HOUBRAKEN after SCHOUWMAN – 1756

Johannes Munnekemolen, Predikant te Aalsmeer […]

Engraving on hand laid (verge) paper.
Sheet size: 25,9 x 34,9 cm. (10,2 x 13,7 inch). Image size: 24,3 x 33,3 cm. (9,6 x 13,1 inch).

Published by P.G. van Balen, 1756.

Made by Jacob Houbraken after Aert Schouwman. Jacobus Houbraken: (Dutch; 1698-1780). Engraver, etcher and collector, son of Arnold Houbraken. Houbraken learnt how to engrave from his father and began by copying prints by Cornelis Cort, Jonas Suyderhoef and Cornelis Visscher. His father, Arnold Houbraken (1660-1719) was a well respected engraver in his own right. The younger Houbraken quickly evolved a technique which shared some affinity with the portrait engravings of the great seventeenth century French school, most notably those of Nanteuil, Drevet and Edelinck. Houbraken’s name is most closely linked to the massive project entitled, ‘Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain.’, published in parts in London from 1743 to 1752. Working with the historian and artist, George Vertue, Houbraken engraved most of the important representations of Britain’s most noted men from the past. Houbraken’s greatest portraits, however, were his engravings based upon capturing the likenesses of his contemporaries. Here we see his precise and subtle use of the engraved line to its best advantage. These skills amazed most of Houbraken’s fellow artists. A generation later, the famous Italian engraver, Raphael Morghen, remarked, No engraver has ever equaled, and probably will not equal, the Dutchman Jacobus Houbraken, in the manner of imitating the flesh and the hair by means of the engraver. Aert Schouwman (1710-1792) was a Dutch painter and engraver born in Dordrecht.

Condition: Good, given age. Trimmed close to platemark. Pinhole at top left. Light staining at bottom right. Slight paper loss at bottom left. Light soiling. General age-related toning and/or occasional minor defects from handling. Please study scan carefully.

Keywords: JOANES MUNNEKEMOLEN-AALSMEER-KING WILLIAM I

PCO-A10-25