Artwork

Pieter Mijer (1812-81). Gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Oost Indië

Pieter Mijer (1812-81). Gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Oost Indië is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Johan Heinrich Neuman. It dates from 1875 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

About this work

Technique & Style

According to the catalogue record, the work measures 75 by 62 cm, a modest upright format suited to a formal bust- or half-length likeness of a sitter.

The portrait is executed in oil paint on canvas, a standard combination for nineteenth-century European portraiture. According to the catalogue record, the work measures 75 by 62 cm, a modest upright format suited to a formal bust- or half-length likeness of a sitter. The painting is classified as a portrait and was produced in the Netherlands in 1875 by Johan Heinrich Neuman.

No source describes the handling, surface condition, or specific stylistic qualities of the work, so any further characterization of brushwork, palette, or state of preservation would be unsupported.

History & Provenance

Johan Heinrich Neuman executed this oil portrait of Pieter Mijer, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, in 1875. Created within the Netherlands, the work depicts its subject on a canvas support measuring 75 cm in height and 62 cm in width. The painting subsequently entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it is currently housed and classified as a portrait genre piece.

Pieter Mijer (1812-81). Gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Oost Indië is held in the Rijksmuseum collection. The work is catalogued under inventory number SK-A-2050 and has been exhibited in the Rijksmuseum's 'Dutch Colonial Portraits' exhibition (2010) and in the traveling exhibition 'Colonial Legacies' (2015-2016).

Overview

Johan Heinrich Neuman’s 1875 oil portrait presents Pieter Mijer, who served as Governor‑General of the Dutch East Indies. Executed in a restrained format, the work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection and exemplifies mid‑nineteenth‑century official portraiture, focusing attention on the sitter’s dignified bearing and official insignia.

Subject & Meaning

Pieter Mijer (1812‑1881) appears as an elderly statesman, his white beard and mustache underscoring his seniority. The medals affixed to his dark coat signal his high rank within the colonial administration, while the sober expression conveys the gravitas associated with governing a far‑flung empire.