# Jacobus Houbraken artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/jacobus-houbraken/
Profile generated: 2026-05-14T23:02:30.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1698-12-25
- Death date: 1780-11-14
- Nationality: Dutch
- Movements: Dutch Golden Age reproductive printmaking tradition
- Common media: copper plate engraving, etching, drawing

## About Jacobus Houbraken

Jacobus Houbraken (1698–1780) was a Dutch engraver and reproductive printmaker celebrated for his extensive series of portrait engravings of Netherlandish and British historical figures. Born in Dordrecht and trained by his father, the painter and biographer Arnold Houbraken, he moved to Amsterdam around 1707 and spent most of his career there. Houbraken helped complete his father's landmark publication The Great Theatre of Dutch Painters (1718–1721) before launching his own prolific career. His best-known collaborative work, Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain (1743–1752), undertaken with historian Thomas Birch and artist George Vertue, cemented his reputation across Britain and the Continent. Influenced by earlier masters such as Cornelis Cort and Gerard Edelinck, Houbraken produced more than 400 portrait engravings that remain vital records for art-historical provenance and the study of 17th- and 18th-century visual culture. His portraits — typically set in oval frames with biographical annotations — are held by major institutions including the Rijksmuseum, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, and the British Museum.

## Common works and media

Houbraken's most commonly encountered works are portrait engravings executed in copper plate, typically featuring the sitter in an oval frame with an inscribed caption identifying the subject and their achievements. He engraved portraits after original paintings by artists including Bartholomeus van der Helst, Godfrey Kneller, and Gerard van Honthorst. His illustrations appear in several major 18th-century publications, including Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain, Jan Wagenaar's Vaderlandsche historie, and Jan van Gool's Nieuwe schouburg der Nederlantsche kunstschilders. He also produced narrative scenes after Cornelis Troost. Works are found as individual prints, bound series, and illustrations within published volumes.

## Market and appraisal context

Collectors encounter Houbraken's work primarily as copper-plate portrait engravings, which appear regularly at auction in the Old Master Prints category. Value depends on the prominence of the sitter, impression quality, plate state, paper condition, and whether full margins and plate marks survive. Portraits of notable figures such as Dutch stadtholders, renowned artists, and British statesmen tend to attract stronger demand. Because Houbraken's output was large and widely disseminated, rarity varies significantly by subject. Documented provenance from notable collections can enhance value. Buyers should distinguish between original period impressions and later re-strikes.

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines researched biographical and art-historical information from authority files (Getty ULAN, VIAF, RKD, Wikidata) with auction records and provenance data when available. Market context draws on documented auction-house results, institutional holdings, and published catalogues. Appraisily artist pages supplement this research with Invaluable auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots to help collectors understand factors that may affect appraisal.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1375551
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobus_Houbraken
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500007033
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/7659158/
- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/39952
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2005063124