HENDRIK HAVERMAN
1857 Amsterdam – 1928 The Hague
WRITER KAREL ALBERDINCK THYM
mixed media on paper, 245 x 195 mm
signed dated and inscribed upper right: KAREL ALBERDINCK THYM /- L.v. DEYSSEL – / Haverman/ juli 1897
date: 1897
provenance:
private collection, the Netherlands;
sold at auction Sotheby’s Amsterdam circa 1982;
Mr. Antoon M. van den Broek (1932-1995) Haarlem;
by descent;
Bubb Kuyper auctioneer of books, Haarlem, 23 November 2023, lot 3583.
This drawing presents a Karel Alberdinck Thym (1864–1952), also known under his literary pseudonym Lodewijk van Deyssel, shown in sharp right-facing profile. Hendrik Haverman renders the anatomical structure of the head and facial features with exceptional precision. The artist thus achieves a concentrated and monumental image that emphasizes intellectual authority and psychological presence. The strict profile and neutral background recall contemporary photographic conventions and underscore the analytical and objective character of the representation.
The drawing possesses a distinctly photorealistic quality and was executed after a photograph (fig. 1), which served as Haverman’s primary source. In translating the photographic image into drawing, Haverman deliberately altered the rendering of Alberdinck Thym’s eye, subtly adjusting its form and expression in order to strengthen the psychological intensity and visual coherence of the portrait as well as making the likeness appear more „alive“.The present drawing constitutes the original preparatory study for the lithographic portrait executed by Haverman for his series depicting prominent cultural figures, published in De Kroniek. De Kroniek was an influential Dutch cultural periodical founded in 1895 that played a central role in shaping modern artistic and intellectual discourse in the Netherlands around 1900. It provided a platform for progressive writers, artists, and critics, combining literature, visual art, and social commentary to articulate a self-conscious modern cultural identity.
Fig. 1 Attr. to George Hendrik Breitner, Lodewijk van Deyssel, photograph, 168 x 124 mm
Karel Alberdinck Thym was one of the most influential literary figures in the Netherlands around 1900. As a central member of the Tachtigers, he played a decisive role in redefining Dutch literature by advocating aesthetic autonomy, stylistic intensity, and prioritizing individual perception. In his essays and criticism he rejected moral didacticism. His cultural authority and striking public persona made him a natural fit for Haverman’s portrait series.
Hendrik Johannes Haverman was a Dutch painter and printmaker born in Amsterdam and active primarily in Amsterdam and The Hague. He began his artistic training at an early age and enrolled at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam in 1874. His education was further advanced through study in Antwerp under Karel Verlat, supported by a royal subsidy.
Early in his career, Haverman worked in Brussels, where he was exposed to contemporary Belgian realism. He later returned to Amsterdam, where the influence of August Allebé proved decisive to his artistic development. Between 1881 and 1886, he maintained a studio in Amsterdam and became an active member of leading artists’ societies, including St. Lucas and Arti et Amicitiae. During this period, he also taught drawing at Felix Meritis, establishing a professional network that contributed to his later success.
From the early 1890s onward, Haverman focused on genre scenes and portraiture, earning recognition for his psychological insight and compositional clarity. After settling permanently in The Hague in 1892, he joined the Hollandse Teeken-Maatschappij and, following the example of Jan Veth, produced lithographic portraits of prominent contemporaries. His work was widely reproduced in periodicals such as De Kroniek and Woord en Beeld.
Haverman received several professional honors, including knighthood in the Order of Leopold. He is regarded as a representative figure of late nineteenth-century Dutch art, positioned between realism and symbolism, and noted for his emphasis on intimacy, structure, and psychological depth.