Artwork
Portrait of Frans Godin, Poet in Brussels

Portrait of Frans Godin, Poet in Brussels is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Jan Maurits Quinkhard. It dates from 1750 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Technique & Style
Jan Maurits Quinkhard executed the Portrait of Frans Godin, Poet in Brussels in 1750 using oil paint applied to a copper support.
Jan Maurits Quinkhard executed the Portrait of Frans Godin, Poet in Brussels in 1750 using oil paint applied to a copper support. The work measures 11 cm in height and 9.5 cm in width, reflecting the small-scale format typical of copper portraits from this period. As a portrait genre piece, the painting demonstrates the artist's handling of oil on metal, a technique that allowed for fine detail and a smooth surface finish. The piece is currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
History & Provenance
Created in 1750, the Portrait of Frans Godin, Poet in Brussels was executed by the artist Jan Maurits Quinkhard. The work is an oil painting on a copper support, measuring 11 cm in height and 9.5 cm in width. It currently resides in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
Portrait of Frans Godin, Poet in Brussels, painted by Jan Maurits Quinkhard in 1750, is housed at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam with the inventory number SK-A-2445. The work, created on copper, has been exhibited at the Rijksmuseum, including in the exhibition "Dutch and Flemish Paintings from the Rijksmuseum Collection" (2019).
Context
The 1750 copper painting Portrait of Frans Godin, Poet in Brussels by Jan Maurits Quinkhard entered the Rijksmuseum collection and remains on display in Amsterdam, where its scholarly designation aligns with the museum's cataloging of 18th-century Dutch portraiture. The work's material specificity, oil paint on copper, measuring 11 by 9.5 centimeters, reflects the technical conventions of the period and underscores Quinkhard's role within the broader trajectory of portrait painting in the Netherlands.
Overview
Created circa 1750 by Dutch artist Jan Maurits Quinkhard, this portrait is executed on a copper support. It presents Frans Godin, a poet active in Brussels, seated in a composed pose. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection and exemplifies the refined intimacy characteristic of mid‑eighteenth‑century portraiture.
Subject & Meaning
The sitter, identified as the poet Frans Godin, is shown with long, wavy hair and a moustache, dressed in a dark jacket trimmed with white lace over a crisp white shirt. The subdued brown background focuses attention on his dignified appearance, suggesting the cultural status and cultivated elegance associated with literary figures of the period.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jan Maurits Quinkhard (28 January 1688 – 11 November 1772) was an 18th-century painter and print designer from the Dutch Republic.















