Adam's HOMAN POTTERTON A LIFETIME OF COLLECTING 7th September 2021

18 5 JACOBUS HOUBRACKEN AFTER HOLBEIN, KNELLER ETC. From the series : Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain : Anne Bullen, Queen of King Henry VIII; Sir Isaac Newton; Sir Thomas Moore; Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Sussex; etc. A set of nineteen engravings, 37 x 23cm (14.5 x 9”) (19) € 2,000 - 3,000 Jacobus Houbraken was born in Dordrecht, Holland in 1698 and learned the art of engrav- ing from his father. In 1707 he moved to Amsterdam, where for years he helped his father with his magnum opus, his art historical work The Great Theatre of Dutch Painters (1718– 1721). With this project he started his portraits of Netherlandish celebrities, that are today in many cases the only likenesses left of these people. Houbraken devoted himself almost entirely to portraiture. His work became fa- mous through his collaboration with the historian Thomas Birch and artist George Vertue, on the project entitled, Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain, published in parts in London from 1743 to 1752. His oeuvre of more than 400 portrait engravings form an important record for art provenance. His portraits were often set in an oval frame, with a subtitle with the subject’s claim to fame. Under that in small letters, he placed his notes about the original oil portrait. He died in Amsterdam, aged 81.