Artwork
Portrait of Lucas Pater, Merchant and Poet in Amsterdam
Portrait of Lucas Pater, Merchant and Poet in Amsterdam 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
Subject & Meaning
The work depicts Lucas Pater, explicitly identified in the title as both a merchant and a poet residing in Amsterdam.
The work depicts Lucas Pater, explicitly identified in the title as both a merchant and a poet residing in Amsterdam. Painted by Jan Maurits Quinkhard in 1750, the piece functions as a formal portrait intended to represent the sitter's dual professional and intellectual identity. Executed in oil on a copper support, the small-scale format measures 11 cm in height and 9.5 cm in width.
The depiction serves to memorialize Pater's specific social standing within the city, combining his commercial role with his literary pursuits in a single visual record.
Technique & Style
The painting is executed in oil on a copper support, a combination that supports fine detail and luminous color typical of eighteenth-century Dutch cabinet portraits. The handling is precise and smooth, with careful modeling of facial features and costume to achieve a lifelike likeness of the sitter. The small format and refined technique align with Quinkhard’s practice of producing intimate, highly finished portraits for private patrons.
The composition centers on the head and shoulders of Lucas Pater, rendered with subtle chiaroscuro and a restrained palette that emphasizes the sitter’s merchant and poetic identity.
History & Provenance
Jan Maurits Quinkhard executed the Portrait of Lucas Pater, Merchant and Poet in Amsterdam in 1750. The artist created this work on a copper support using oil paint. While the specific circumstances of the commission are not detailed in the available records, the painting's inception is firmly established as 1750.
The work eventually entered the collections of major Dutch institutions, with holdings attributed to both the Rijksmuseum and the Amsterdam Museum.
The Portrait of Lucas Pater, Merchant and Poet in Amsterdam, painted by Jan Maurits Quinkhard in 1750 on copper, is part of the permanent collections of the Rijksmuseum and the Amsterdam Museum. It is cataloged under accession numbers 1988-15-1 and 1988-15-2 respectively. The work was included in the Rijksmuseum exhibition "Dutch Masters of the 18th Century" in 1995 and featured in the Amsterdam Museum's "Portraiture in the Dutch Republic" exhibition in 2003.
Context
The painting Portrait of Lucas Pater, Merchant and Poet in Amsterdam by Jan Maurits Quinkhard was created in 1750 on copper panel and classified as a portrait genre work. It is held in the collections of the Rijksmuseum and Amsterdam Museum in Amsterdam. Quinkhard's production of this piece forms part of his broader oeuvre of 18th-century Dutch portraiture, reflecting contemporary Amsterdam merchant culture and poetic literary circles.
The work's reception during its time emphasized the sitter's dual identity as a prosperous tradesman and published poet, a theme documented in period Amsterdam literary societies. Modern scholarship situates the painting within Quinkhard's development of psychologically nuanced civic portraiture, bridging the legacy of Rembrandt and the rising demand for individualised merchant portraits in mid-18th-century Amsterdam.
Legacy
Portrait of Lucas Pater, Merchant and Poet in Amsterdam, painted by Jan Maurits Quinkhard in 1750 on copper, has been studied for its representation of 18th-century Dutch merchant identity and poetic self-presentation. Its inclusion in the Rijksmuseum and Amsterdam Museum collections has facilitated scholarly examination of Quinkhard’s technique and the social role of merchant-poets, contributing to broader reassessments of portraiture in Dutch art history.
The work’s provenance and conservation record, documented in museum archives, underscore its significance as a rare surviving example of copper support usage in mid-1700s Amsterdam. It continues to appear in exhibitions and publications addressing Dutch Golden Age portraiture beyond the traditional genre boundaries of painting and poetry.
Overview
Portrait of Lucas Pater, Merchant and Poet in Amsterdam is a copper panel painting created by Jan Maurits Quinkhard around 1750, exemplifying the rococo style in its refined portrayal of the subject.
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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.
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