Portrait of Johannes Keurenaer
| Dating | presumably circa 1908 |
|---|---|
| Material / technique | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 89 x 68 cm |
| Literature | |
| Exhibitions | |
| Provenance | Delft University of Technology Long-term loan to present residence |
| Current residence | UNESCO-IHE Insitute for Water Education Delft |
| Signature | b.r. in paint: HRi [underscored] GOOVAERTS |
| Headings | |
| Remarks | Johannes Augustus Keurenaer (1810-1875) was director of the Royal Academy of Civil Engineers in Delft between 1859 and 1864. It is imaginable that Henri Goovaerts received the assignment for this posthumous portrait around 1890 by the mediation of Philip Bogaert, who had met the young painter at that time in Maastricht and had commissioned him to paint the portraits of himself and his children. Philip Bogaert probably knew Johannes Keurenaer personally, since they both had been member of the Royal Institute of Engineers in the same period of time (reference: Koninklijk Instituut van ingenieurs. Algemeen verslag van de notulen der vergaderingen 1858-1859, Den Haag 1859). Yet the detailed style as well as the skilled brush stroke of this portrait point to a later date. In 1900, Augustus, the only son of Johannes Keurenaer, moved from Utrecht to Maastricht, where he lived until his death in 1910. It is likely that in Maastricht Augustus came into contact with the local nobility who had their portraits painted by Henri Goovaerts. At that time he may have commissioned Goovaerts to make a posthumous portrait of his father. Since Henri Goovaerts had returned to Maastricht in 1906, we may assume that this portrait was painted between 1906 and 1910. |