THEO VAN HOYTEMA
1863 – The Hague – 1917
PORTRAIT OF AN OLD FARMER
pastel and charcoal on board, 55 x 43 cm
monogrammed lower left: ThH
inscribed ‘ATELIER VAN HOYTEMA RNRH’[1]
date: c. 1900
provenance:
estate sale Theo van Hoytema, Frederik Muller & Cie., Amsterdam, 14 November 1917, lot 423;
private collection, The Netherlands;
Veilinghuis Omnia, Hoogezand, The Netherlands, 15 October 2019, lot 127;
private collection, the Netherlands.
The work depicts an elderly man shown in strict profile, seated in a woven chair and facing to the right. His features are rendered with careful precision: deep wrinkles along the temples, cheeks, and neck emphasize age and lived experience, while the prominent nose and thinning, combed-back hair give the profile a strongly individualized character. He wears a dark, buttoned jacket with a high collar, understated in appearance and free of ornament, lending the figure a sober and dignified presence.
The background consists of a flat blue-green field with visible vertical striations, creating a clear contrast with the warm, earthy tones of the face and clothing. Behind the figure, partially visible on a table, is a cup and saucer with decorative detailing, anchoring the portrait in an everyday domestic setting without distracting from the sitter. The restrained palette, controlled composition, and emphasis on profile contribute to a focused, contemplative mood, presenting the subject as both physically present and psychologically inward-looking.
Portrait of an Old Farmer situates Theodoor van Hoytema within a broader artistic discourse around 1900, in which rural laborers and peasants were increasingly endowed with a monumental presence as a response to the social and cultural consequences of industrialization and modernization. In this period, the countryside was frequently conceptualized as a locus of authenticity, continuity, and moral value, increasingly perceived as threatened by urban expansion and economic transformation. Shaped by currents of realism and symbolism, artists rejected anecdotal or genre-based representations in favor of grave, timeless portrayals that emphasized dignity, endurance, and the rhythms of labor.
Within this framework, Hoytema’s portrait transcends individual likeness to function as a typological image of the rural subject. The farmer is presented not merely as a social figure, but as an embodiment of historical time, physical labor, and collective experience. As such, the work participates in contemporary constructions of national identity and cultural memory, elevating rural life from everyday reality to a subject of lasting symbolic significance.
Theodoor van Hoytema was born in The Hague as the youngest of seven children. Orphaned at an early age, he resolved early on to pursue a career as an artist. By 1890, he had established a studio in Pax Instrantibus, a modest garden house near De Brinckhorst Castle outside The Hague. Hoytema achieved early acclaim as the first artist in the Netherlands to integrate lithographic illustrations seamlessly with text, most notably in Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling, published in 1894. The book was an immediate success and established Hoytema as a sought-after, multidisciplinary artist.
Hoytema’s work reveals the influence of Japanese art and English illustrators such as Walter Crane, as well as the stylized vocabulary of Art Nouveau prevalent around 1900. In 1915, he was awarded a gold medal at the International Exhibition in San Francisco, marking the height of his international recognition. Throughout his career, animals were his principal subject, appearing across nearly all media he employed, including painting, drawing, graphic design, and applied arts. With a particular focus on graphic work, Hoytema carefully preserved his sketches and drawings in subject-organized portfolios spanning more than three decades.[2] Because he rarely signed or dated his works, establishing a precise chronology remains difficult.
Suffering from a chronic illness, likely syphilis, Hoytema’s artistic production was largely confined to the early twentieth century. Upon his death in 1917, and in accordance with his wishes, the majority of his oeuvre entered the collections of the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, while more than one hundred drawings of animals and landscapes were sold at auction. The present pastel was the only fully executed portrait included in that sale, standing as a rare exception within Hoytema’s otherwise sustained dedication to the animal kingdom.