Charles H. Hodges

Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck
Grand Pensionary of the Batavian Republic in the Netherlands.

16.5 x 26.5 inches

A magnificent, full-length mezzotint portrait of Schimmelpenninck engraved by C. H. Hodges and published in Amsterdam in 1805.

This portrait was considered by Chaloner Smith (scholar and author on the British mezzotint) to be an exceptional example of what could be achieved through the art of mezzotint engraving. He eulogised over the extraordinary detail achieved in the plumes of Schimmelpenninck's hat, the texture of his velvet cape and the lustre of his silk tassels. Charles Hodges was an English artist and engraver who studied under J. R. Smith and worked in London from 1788 onwards before emigrating to Amsterdam in 1794 where he started engraving after Dutch portrait artists. This plate is, indeed, a very fine example of the engraver's skill.

Schimmelpenninck himself (1761-1825) was a Dutch ambassador and politician who is best remembered for his arbitration work between the British and French prior to the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. He was born into the bastard branch of an aristocratic Dutch family and gained both respectability and wealth through an advantageous marriage. He trained as a lawyer in Leiden before entering the political arena. His negotiating skills were put to the test when he acted as a go between with Napoleon's brother and his British counterpart, the Marquess of Cornwallis. After the treaty was signed he lived in London briefly from 1802-03 but returned to the Netherlands and took the somewhat illustrious title of Grand Pensionary of the Batavian Republic from 1805-06.