Gallery of portraits
of Leeuwenhoek
 1681 - Cornelis de Man |
Cornelis de Man (1621-1706) painted this group portrait commissioned by the Delft surgeon's guild in 1681, when Leeuwenhoek was 49. It shows Dr. Cornelis Isaaks 's-Gravesande in the Theatrum Anatomicum on the Verwersdijk poking a cadaver while other members of the surgeons' guild look on, including Dr. Henry d'Acquet in the lower right corner. Leeuwenhoek is standing to 's Gravesande's left with his hand over his heart. |
 1681 - de Man's Anatomy Lesson - detail |
Detail from Cornelis de Man's group portrait commissioned by the Delft surgeon's guild in 1681. According to Boitet's Beschryving p. 528, Leeuwenhoek sat om dit werk meer luister bij te zetten, in order to add more luster to the work. |
 1686 - Verkolje portrait of Leeuwenhoek |
Portrait of Antony van Leeuwenhoek by Johannes Verkolje (1650-1693) in (probably) 1686, when Leeuwenhoek was 54.
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 1686 - Verkolje portrait of Leeuwenhoek (headshot) |
Headshot of portrait of Antony van Leeuwenhoek by Johannes Verkolje (1650-1693) in (probably) 1686, at age 54, oil. |
 1686 - Verkolje portrait of Leeuwenhoek (faceshot) |
Close-up detail of portrait of Antony van Leeuwenhoek by Johannes Verkolje in (probably) 1686, at age 54, oil. Dobell p. 346 dates it 1686 because of its similarities to Verkolje's mezzotint, which is dated 1686. Check out that little moustache! |
 1686 - Verkolje portrait of Leeuwenhoek (mezzotint) |
Portrait of Antony van Leeuwenhoek by Johannes Verkolje (1650-1693) in 1686, mezzotint. Dobell p. 347 notes that it is similar to Verkolje's oil painting, but with the pose reversed and some details changed. It is dated 1686, which put the oil painting at around the same time, when Leeuwenhoek was 54. The gall nuts on Leeuwenhoek's work table in the lower right of the painting were discussed in Letter 50 of May 14, 1686.
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 1686 - Verkolje portrait of Leeuwenhoek (mezzotint detail) |
Detail of portrait of Antony van Leeuwenhoek by Johannes Verkolje in 1686, mezzotint.
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 1686 - Verkolje portrait of Leeuwenhoek (mezzotint closeup) |
Closeup of face in portrait of Antony van Leeuwenhoek by Johannes Verkolje (1650-1693) in 1686, mezzotint. Dobell p. 347 notes that it is similar to Verkolje's oil painting, but with the pose reversed and some details changed. It is dated 1686, which put the oil painting at around the same time.
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 1687 - de Blois portrait of Leeuwenhoek |
Portrait of Antony van Leeuwenhoek by Abraham de Blois (Delft 1655 - Amsterdam 1717) in (probably) 1686, at age 54, copperplate engraving. It first appeared in 1687 as the frontispiece to the Vervolg der Brieven. Dobell p. 349 calls this portrait "derived" from Verkolje's oil painting. |
 1707 - Goree portrait of Leeuwenhoek |
Jan Goree (Goure, Goeree) (1670-1731) was a designer and engraver from Middleburg who lived in Amsterdam. In the Delft archives are records of a shoemaker of the same name who lived in the Blauwe Klok, eight houses north of Leeuwenhoek on the west side of the Hippolytusbuurt (C0163). He died in 1650, a half-century before this engraving. Dobell, p. 354-355, dates this portrait at 1707, when Leeuwenhoek was 75. It first appeared in the titleplate to Send-Brieven in 1718. |
 1798 - Smith portrait of Leeuwenhoek |
Portrait of Antony van Leeuwenhoek by Anker Smith in (probably) 1686, at age 54. It appears in Hoole's Selected Letters in 1798. Dobell p. 350 notes that it is a copy of the de Blois copy of Verkolje's portrait.
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 1813 - Chapman portrait of Leeuwenhoek |
Portrait of Antony van Leeuwenhoek by J. Chapman, 1813, steel engraving. Dobell p. 350 calls it a copy of A. Smith's portrait, who copied the one that A. de Blois made, presumably from life. It first appeared in one of the Dutch editions of the letters that Leeuwenhoek published himself in 1687, when he was 55 years old. |
