Jonas Witsen, Burgemeester der Stad Amsterdam

Art Historical Context

This elegant portrait print depicts Jonas Witsen, a prominent burgomaster (mayor) of Amsterdam in the mid-eighteenth century. Created around 1749, the work captures the dignified presence of a civic leader during the Dutch Republic’s later Golden Age, when Amsterdam remained a vital center of trade and governance. The image likely reproduces a painted original by Frans van der Mijn, translated into print form by the skilled engraver Jacob Houbraken, whose precise line work helped disseminate portraits of notable Dutch figures across Europe. Executed in etching and engraving, the print demonstrates the refined reproductive techniques popular in the 1700s. Houbraken’s fine cross-hatching and delicate tonal modeling convey both the texture of Witsen’s formal attire and the subtle modeling of his face, lending the small plate a sense of lifelike presence despite its modest scale. Such prints served not only as personal mementos but also as tools for shaping public memory of political leaders. Now preserved in the Metropolitan Museum’s Department of Drawings and Prints, this sheet offers visitors a window into eighteenth-century Dutch civic culture and the enduring power of portraiture to honor public service.

About the Artist

Jacob Houbraken|Frans van der Mijn (Italian|Dutch) · 1700 |1698 –1753 |1780

Italian, Bologna 1700–1753 Bologna|Dutch, Dordrecht 1698–1780 Amsterdam