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Adriaen Hanneman

(The Hague ca. 1604 – The Hague 1671)
1 work in the Collection
Print

Nogrady, Elizabeth. “Adriaen Hanneman” (2024). . In The Leiden Collection Catalogue, 4th ed. Edited by Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. and Elizabeth Nogrady with Caroline Van Cauwenberge. New York, 2023–. https://theleidencollection.com/artists/adriaen-hanneman/ (accessed February 06, 2025).

Biography

Born in the Hague around 1604, Adriaen Hanneman belonged to a family from the southern Netherlands; his paternal great-grandfather, Pieter Hanneman (ca. 1460–1525) was originally from Bruges and later settled in The Hague, where he served as commissioner for the Court of Audits of Holland. While many relations went on to hold government positions in the city, Adriaen Hanneman forged his own path to become an artist. According to guild records dated 1619, he studied with the portrait painter Anthony van Ravesteyn II (ca. 1580–1669), younger brother of the better-known artist Jan van Ravesteyn (ca. 1572–1657). In Hanneman’s earliest-known dated work, Portrait of a Woman of 1625, the crisp and sculptural figure reveals his adherence to the mode of the Van Ravesteyns. The sitter’s demeanor, which exudes propriety enlivened with an air of elegance, also points to the legacy of the Delft master Michiel van Mierevelt (1566–1641), whom the Van Ravesteyns followed. Though his painting technique would evolve notably over time, Hanneman retained his early penchant for presenting sitters with poised, defined silhouettes throughout his career.

In 1626, Hanneman moved to England, where in 1630 he married Elizabeth Wilson (d. ca. 1634) at the parish of St. Martins in the Fields. His initial artistic activities in London are unknown, although, as Jacob Campo Weyerman (1677– 1747) later suggested, Hanneman may have worked in the studio of Daniel Mijtens (ca. 1590–1647/48), a native of Delft who painted for the English court. Of far greater importance for Hanneman, however, was the Flemish master Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641), who arrived in London in 1632 to become court painter for Charles I (1600–49). Van Dyck’s bold and elegant portraits, vibrant palette, and flourishing brushwork profoundly impacted Hanneman. Indeed, as Onno ter Kuile has argued, Hanneman may have spent time in Van Dyck’s studio. Among Hanneman’s portraits that reflect Van Dyck’s style is The Leiden Collection’s Portrait of François Langlois Holding a Flute, dated 1636. Another, likely painted a year or so later, is the portrait of Cornelis Johnson (1599–1641) and his family. Johnson, like Hanneman, belonged to the circle of Dutch portraitists working in England, and the two shared close ties. Hanneman’s paintings of his colleagues are examples of the painterly skill and tight-knit community—not to mention dominance—of Dutch and Flemish portrait painters working at this time in England.

Around 1638, amid growing political and social unrest in England, Hanneman returned to The Hague, where he painted portraits of distinguished individuals, often related to the Dutch court, in the style of Van Dyck. Among these pictures was his portrayal of the secretary to the Prince of Orange, Constantijn Huygens (1596–1687), and his children. When the English civil war broke out, Hanneman began catering to exiled members of the English court, many of whom came to The Hague to be near Mary Henrietta Stuart (1631–60), the daughter of king Charles I who had married Willem II (1626–50), the Prince of Orange. Hanneman also painted portraits of Mary and her son Willem Hendrik (1650–1702); the Prince of Wales (1630–85), later Charles II; and his brother Henry (1640–60), Duke of Gloucester. Though Hanneman focused primarily on portraiture, he did receive a few major commissions for allegorical scenes. He produced Allegory of Justice in 1644 and painted Allegory of Peace for the States of Holland twenty years later.

Hanneman was well ensconced in The Hague both professionally and personally. His second wife, Maria van Ravesteyn (d. before 1669), whom he married in 1640, was the daughter of the leading portraitist Jan van Ravesteyn, the brother of Hanneman’s first teacher. Presumably thanks to both family largesse and his own professional success, in 1641 Hanneman purchased a comfortable house on the Nobelstraat near the residence of his father-in-law, and soon thereafter he acquired another adjoining property. He flourished in the evolving landscape of the city’s artists’ organizations, first joining the Guild of Saint Luke in 1640 before being elected to the governing board in 1643 and, later, to the position of dean, which he held from 1645 until 1649. In 1656, Hanneman was involved in the creation of the Confrerie (Brotherhood), later called the Confrerie Pictura (Brotherhood of Painting), a professional association for painters and sculptors that intentionally excluded other trades involved in the traditional guild. Hanneman was elected dean at its founding. During these years he also had several students, and later, in the 1660s, he continued to hold leadership roles in the organization. In 1666, Cornelis van Veen (1602–87), secretary of the Confrerie, proposed that funds be allotted to create a silver cup to honor Hanneman and recognize his fiscally responsible leadership of the group.

Despite Hanneman’s successful career and the financial acumen lauded by his colleagues, his last years were difficult monetarily. No dated paintings by the artist are known from after 1668, suggesting he may have been unable to paint, perhaps due to illness. His estate, which had been valued at 20,000 florins in 1667, was worth less than 6,000 by 1670, and in that year he also had to sell part of his property and auction some of his belongings. He did, however, marry a third time, in 1669, to Alida Besemer (d. ca. 1670), who came from a family of municipal officials and likely died shortly after the wedding. Hanneman died soon thereafter and was buried on 11 July 1671 in a plot purchased by his father-in-law Van Ravesteyn near the Kloosterkerk in The Hague.

- Elizabeth Nogrady, 2024
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