Artwork

Portrait of Pieter Meijer, publisher and bookseller of Amsterdam

Portrait of Pieter Meijer, publisher and bookseller of Amsterdam is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Hendrik Pothoven. It dates from 1750 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

About this work

Overview

Hendrik Pothoven, an 18th‑century Dutch painter, executed this oil portrait of Pieter Meijer, a leading Amsterdam publisher and bookseller, around 1750. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection and exemplifies the Rococo aesthetic that prevailed in the Netherlands during the mid‑1700s.

Subject & Meaning

The sitter, Pieter Meijer, is shown seated at a desk, his white, curled hair and formal black jacket with lace trim signalling his respectable status. He holds a quill poised above an open book, while his other hand rests on the page, underscoring his involvement in the literary trade and the intellectual culture of Amsterdam.

Technique & Style

Pothoven employs a restrained palette of dark greens, blacks and whites, allowing the illuminated figure to emerge from a muted background. The delicate rendering of lace, the subtle modeling of flesh, and the soft handling of light reflect Rococo’s emphasis on elegance and refined surface treatment, while the composition remains firmly grounded in Dutch portrait conventions.

History & Provenance

Trained under Frans de Bakker and Philip van Dijk, Pothoven worked mainly in Amsterdam before moving to The Hague in 1764. The portrait remained in private hands for over a century before entering the Rijksmuseum’s holdings, where it has been catalogued as a representative work of the artist’s middle period.

Context

In the mid‑18th century Amsterdam, publishing was a thriving enterprise linked to the city’s commercial and intellectual expansion. Portraits such as this served both as personal commemoration and as visual affirmation of a client’s cultural influence, situating Meijer within the broader network of Enlightenment‑era book production.