5.6 Friendship, respect, prestige
While Koelman was written off by the ambassador, the minister and the Amsterdam academy council, he continued to enjoy the respect of the Dutch press. In the Kunstkronijk of 1843-1844, his portrait of the sculptor John de Koningh (1808-1845) –who had succeeded him as winner of the Rome Prize in 1841 – was praised as an example of ‘art’ [at] ‘its highest peak’.1 In the years to come, the magazine repeatedly published reproductions of Koelmans’ genre paintings with rave reviews [10-11]. Meanwhile, he continued his fortunes as a portrait painter [12-14].
Koelman also remained a reference point for Dutch and Flemish confrères who joined him in Rome. This is evident, for example, from the travel diaries of the painter Pierre Louis Dubourcq (1815-1873),2 who, with his travelling companion Willem Bodeman (1806-1880), visited Koelman’s studio the day after their arrival in Rome on 22 March 1843 and found ‘very beautiful studies’ there [15].3
10
Johannes Christiaan d’Arnaud Gerkens after Johan Hendrik Koelman,
A pensive girl, from: Kunstkronijk 7 (1846) fig. 11,
lithography in black and beige, sheet 303 × 220 mm,
Special Collections University Library, University of Groningen.
11
Johan Hendrik Koelman,
Two studying monks, from: Kunstkronijk 13 (1852) fig. 15,
lithography in black and grey, sheet 340 × 245 mm,
Special Collections University Library, University of Groningen
12
Johan Hendrik Koelman,
Portrait of a young woman with book, 1846,
tempera on wood, 32 × 23,5 cm,
private collection, photo Casa d’Aste Babuino, Rome
13
Johan Hendrik Koelman,
Portrait of Ludmilla de Nolinsky, 1846,
pencil on paper, 137 × 107 mm,
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, inv. no. RP-T-1953-485(r)
14
Johan Hendrik Koelman,
Portrait of an unknown woman, 1847,
oil on canvas, 41.5 × 33 cm,
location unknown, photo RKD Images, IB no. 93276
Dubourcq’s notes make it clear that ‘friend Koelman’ was a central figure in the Flemish-Dutch artists’ network in Rome. He was the driving force behind social activities, such as the old Dutch-style festivities at the turn of the year 1843-1844.4 On another occasion, Jan Hendrik played the leading role in a play in which Dubourcq poked fun at the Flemish artist Pier van Thienen.5
Koelman was also a pillar of support in a professional sense, helping colleagues such as Dubourcq and Bodeman to find a studio, storing materials during their absence from Rome or sending painting supplies to their country retreat in the campagna, when he did not accompany them there himself [16].6 The beautiful portrait that Koelman drew of Willem Bodeman in 1843 and kept throughout his life testifies to their close bond [17].
At the same time, Koelman had made a name for himself outside the Flemish-Dutch circle. This is evident from a review of The interior of the infirmary kitchen of a Capuchin monastery, exhibited at the Società degli Amatori e Cultori delle Belle Arti in 1844 [18]. The critic of the Roman journal Il Saggiatore ‘never ceased to marvel at the sophistication of this work. How much truth there is in the representation of even the smallest details!’.7 In December 1845, Jan Hendrik represented Belgian and Dutch artists in a delegation of the same society, which organised a private exhibition on the occasion of the visit of the Russian Tsar Nicholas I (1796-1855).8 In October 1846, Koelmans’ reputation was apparently such that a number of his watercolours and miniatures were shown to the Tsar’s sister, Queen Anna Paulowna of the Netherlands (1795-1865), during her short stay in Rome.9
15
Pierre Louis Dubourcq,
Costume study of an Italian girl, n.d.
black chalk and brush in colored watercolor, 286 × 223 mm,
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, inv. no. RP-T-2014-13-69
16
Willem Bodeman,
View of the Roman campagna, 1843,
oil on paper on wood, 19,3 x 36,4 cm,
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
17
Johan Hendrik Koelman,
Portrait of Willem Bodeman, 1843,
Pencil on paper, 196 × 143 mm,
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, inv. no. RP-T-1953-479
18
Johan Hendrik Koelman,
The interior of the infirmary kitchen of a Capuchin monastery, 1843,
oil on canvas, 54,5 × 65,5 cm,
private collection, photo Auktionshaus im Kinsky GmbH, Vienna
Notes
1 ‘de kunst’ [op] ‘haar hoogste toppunt’, Anonymous 1843-1844, p. 71. In his letter to Ehnle, Koelman mentions De Koningh had arrived in Rome on 2 January 1842, different from Hoogewerff 1933, p. 177 and Van Leeuwen 1985, pp. 106-107. De Koningh died in Genoa on 29 June 1845 on his way back home. Koelman’s portrait is unknown today.
2 ‘Reisdagboeken van Louis Dubourcq, over zijn reis door Italië (1843-1844)’, 3 vols., preserved in HG/SB, inv. no. 316 (hereafter: ‘Reisdagboeken van Louis Dubourcq’). References to Koelman, among other dates, in vol. 1, 21 and 23 March 1843 and vol. 2, 20 and 23 June, 3, 14 and 18 August, 7, 11 October and 31 December 1843, and 9 January 1844.
3 ‘zeer schone studies’, Idem, 23 March 1843.
4 In the company of the aforementioned Bodeman, Van Thienen, Van der Ven, De Koningh, as well as Abraham Teerlink (1776-1857), Jean-François Portaels (1818-1895) and an unidentified ‘Bottermans’.
5 The reference to the play: Koelman 2023, pp. 237-238, and preceding.
6 ‘Reisdagboeken van Louis Dubourcq’, passim, e.g. vol. 2, 22 June, 3, 14 and 18 August 1843.
7 ‘molto e lungamente maravigliai la finitezza del lavoro. Quanta verità nella imitazione de’ più minuti obbietti!’ Mazio 1844, p. 397. On this exhibition, see Montani, 2005-2007, p. 401.
8 On the 1845 exhibition see Roncalli 1972, p. 133 and Montani 2005-2007, p. 91 who erroneously mentions Johan Philip Koelman as a member of the deputation. Jan Hendriks’ role is documented in Archivio di Stato di Roma, Camerlengato, part II, Titolo IV ‘Belle Arti (1824-1854)’, busta 283, fasc. 3166 (Società degli Amatori e Cultori delle Belle Arti).
9 The Queen judged these works as ‘most adorable’ in a letter to her husband King Willem II, dated 21 October 1846, in Royal Collections, The Hague, Archive Anna Paulowna, inv.no. A41, there IIIA-02, 0563-0571. On the queen’s visit to Italy: Hensen 1921.