Brief aan het Rijksprentenkabinet Possibly 1953 - 1957

This is a letter written in The Hague in 1953. The author, G.J.T. Scheltema, wrote to the Director of the Print Room at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. In this letter, Scheltema asks whether the museum would be interested in a large drawing in black chalk by the portrait and genre painter Taco Scheltema II, who lived from 1831 to 1867. It seems Scheltema II is often confused with his more famous grandfather, who was a portrait painter in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The writer explains that the museum has a few self-portraits and about eight drawings by the artist already. This letter is fascinating because it shows how art historians attempt to piece together the biographies and oeuvres of lesser-known artists, using institutional archives, anecdotes, and hints to build a more complete picture of the past.