Portret van Casparis Haanen 1824 - 1895

Adriana Johanna Haanen made this sensitive pencil portrait of her father, Casparis, a painter himself, at some point in the 19th century. It reveals the importance of artistic families in the Netherlands and how artistic training was passed down through generations. Haanen's delicate, almost photographic realism, places the emphasis on her father's character. His somewhat mournful expression, conveyed through the soft rendering of light and shadow, hints at the romantic sensibility valued at the time. The detailed treatment of the jacket and cravat suggests his bourgeois status, as well as the importance of clothing in Dutch society, a theme we also see in the work of painters like Frans Hals and Rembrandt. Understanding this drawing requires us to look beyond the image itself, to the social networks of artists and the institutions that supported them. This requires looking into archival material such as family letters, exhibition records, and auction catalogs, all valuable tools that help us understand art’s wider social context.