Zelfportret - Hendricus Joannes Petrus Hanau

A refined 1850 lithographic self-portrait by Dutch artist Hendricus Joannes Petrus Hanau, capturing the artist as a young man during his formative years.

This lithographic self-portrait by the Dutch artist Hendricus Joannes Petrus Hanau dates to 1850. The work presents a formal, bust-length depiction of the artist as a young man. Hanau employs a refined technique, using delicate hatching and cross-hatching to model the features of his face and the texture of his dark coat. The composition is contained within a soft, vignette-style border, which focuses the viewer's attention on the subject's direct gaze and youthful expression.

The print is accompanied by a handwritten note, also dated 1850, which provides biographical context regarding the artist's early training. The text notes that Hanau began his studies in 1845 under the guidance of the painter Stoof, continuing his education at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. This document offers a rare glimpse into the professional development of a nineteenth-century artist, capturing a moment of transition as he moved from his initial apprenticeship toward formal academic instruction.

As a piece of nineteenth-century portraiture, the work reflects the period's interest in personal identity and the documentation of the artist's own image. The lithographic medium allows for a subtle range of grey tones, providing a sense of depth and volume that mimics the qualities of a charcoal or pencil drawing. The inclusion of the artist's signature and the date within the plate confirms its status as a deliberate, self-referential production. This print is a clear example of the mid-nineteenth-century European tradition of the artist's self-portrait, serving as both a technical exercise and a personal record of the individual at the start of their career.