Antonina Houbraken (30 May 1686 – December 1736) was a Dutch draughtswoman and designer known for her topographical drawings of Dutch sites, as well as landscapes and portrait drawings.
Life
Houbraken was born on 30 May 1686 and baptized on 31 May 1686 in Dordrecht, Dutch Republic. She was the daughter of painter, engraver, and art historian Arnold Houbraken, and the sister of printmaker Jacob Houbraken. She is presumed to have learned drawing in her father's workshop. The family moved from Dordrecht to Amsterdam in 1710.
In May 1723, she married Jacobus Stellingwerff, a goldsmith and draughtsman. The marriage produced no children. Stellingwerff died in December 1727. Houbraken died in Amsterdam at age 50 and was buried on 12 December 1736.
Work
Houbraken worked primarily in ink, chalk, and watercolor, specializing in portrait drawings, topographical views, and title prints. She assisted her father and brother with designs for prints included in her father's book The Great Theatre of Dutch Painters (De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen). She also provided designs for print projects by her brother and other artists such as Pieter Tanjé.
From 1723 to 1727, she produced topographical drawings for the antiquarians Andries Schoemaker and his son Gerrit, who were collectors of topographical prints and drawings. During this period, her husband worked for the lawyer and collector Mattheus Brouërius van Nidek. After her husband's death, Houbraken continued supplying drawings to Schoemaker at least until 1729.
Attribution and Signatures
Recent scholarship has led to the reattribution of many drawings previously assigned to her husband. It is now understood that after her marriage, Houbraken often signed her works with the initials "J.S." (her husband's initials) or "J. Stellingwerf f.," while her husband signed with "J:St." After becoming a widow in 1729, she resumed signing with her own name. Researcher Bert Kolkman has argued that rather than Houbraken drawing in her husband's style, it was Stellingwerff who adopted her style, as he was originally a goldsmith rather than a trained draughtsman. Her drawings are regarded as more precise and detailed than those of her husband, and typically include human figures. The total number of topographical drawings attributed to her is estimated at no fewer than one thousand.
Notable Works
- Title print for Balthazar Huydecoper's edition of Horace's Satires and Epistles (1726)
- Portrait of Mr. Joan Corver (1628–1716), Alderman and Mayor of Amsterdam (dated 1715), held in the Amsterdam City Archives
- Portraits of Amsterdam burgomaster Cornelis Witsen, draughtsman and collector Simon Schijnvoet, and Joan Corver
- A drawing for the famous stamboek (friendship album) of Joanna Koerten, now in the collection of the Fondation Custodia in Paris
- Topographical drawings of Amsterdam buildings, including the Clarissenklooster and the Nieuwe Kerk after the 1645 fire
Collections
Drawings attributed to Houbraken are held in the collections of the Amsterdam City Archives, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, the Rijksmuseum, the British Museum, and the Fondation Custodia in Paris, among others.
