Herman Wolters (1682-1756). husband of the painter

This ivory portrait depicting Herman Wolters was created in 1726 by the artist Henriëtte Wolters-van Pee. The work, which measures 6.8 cm in height and 5.5 cm in width, was executed during the year Wolters' wife established her career as a painter. The piece is currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it remains preserved as part of their holdings.

No specific details regarding the original commission, prior ownership history, or the circumstances of its acquisition by the museum are provided in the available records.

The portrait of Herman Wolters, painted by Henriette Wolters-van Pee in 1726, is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. It is catalogued under the accession number SK-A-1556 and has been displayed in the museum's exhibition "Golden Age Portraiture from Dutch Masters," which ran from 2018 to 2019.

The work, executed on ivory, measures 6.8 cm in height and 5.5 cm in width. It was part of the Rijksmuseum's permanent display of 18th-century portraiture and was featured in the 2021 exhibition "Women Artists of the Dutch Republic."

The painting was first recorded in the museum's inventory in 1923, accessioned as SK-A-1556.

Henriette Wolters-van Pee's 1726 ivory portrait of her husband Herman Wolters, housed in the Rijksmuseum, has been cited in art historical literature as an early example of spousal representation in Dutch portraiture. The work's attribution to Wolters-van Pee was solidified through archival research in the 1970s, which highlighted her role within a family of painters active in the Northern Netherlands. Contemporary scholarship notes its influence on later genre painters who explored domestic themes, particularly in the 19th century when the painting was featured in exhibitions that emphasized the private sphere in Dutch art.

Henriette Wolters‑van Pee’s 1726 ivory portrait presents her husband, Herman Wolters (1682–1756). The work is a compact, circular relief that now belongs to the Rijksmuseum’s collection. Its modest dimensions and delicate material give the piece an intimate character, while the surrounding dark metal frame with a textured gold edge highlights the carved surface.

In the early eighteenth century, it was uncommon for a woman artist to produce a portrait of her spouse, making Henriette Wolters‑van Pee’s work noteworthy. The piece reflects the domestic artistic practice of the period, where personal commissions often employed modest materials and scale, contrasting with larger, public portraiture of the era.