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A framed portrait painting of a man with a mustache, wearing a dark suit and white shirt, enclosed in an ornate gold frame against a dark gray wall. Available via Wildschut Antiques.
Antique oil portrait of a gentleman with a moustache, bald head, and dark suit, expertly painted by W.N. Hendrikse, displayed leaning against an antique wooden armoire in the warehouse of Wildschut Antiques
A close-up portrait painting of a man with a receding hairline, dark mustache, and a white high collar against a dark background.
Close-up of a painted portrait showing part of a person's face with visible brushstrokes in beige, pink, brown, and black tones.
Close-up of an ornate gold and beige picture frame with a dark blue textured canvas or print filling most of the visible area. Faint handwritten text appears on the dark surface.
A painted portrait of a bald man with a dark mustache, wearing a black suit and white shirt against a dark background.
A framed antique portrait oil painting of a man with a mustache, wearing a dark suit and white shirt, enclosed in an ornate gold frame against a light background. Available via Wildschut Antiques.
The back view of a wooden framed canvas print, showing the wooden frame, canvas backing, and hanging hardware against a light background.

A Portrait by W.N. Hendrikse, 1902

Sale price€780,00

A Gentleman in Tiny Brushstrokes

At first glance, this is a wonderfully composed portrait of a serious gentleman from the Belle Époque, complete with an impressive moustache and a perfect dark suit.

But look a little closer and the painting begins to reveal its secret.

Signed and dated 1902, this oil portrait was painted by Willem Nicolaas Hendrikse, a Dutch artist born in Zierikzee in 1863. Hendrikse trained at the Academy in Antwerp and worked in Belgium as well as in Middelburg, Zeeland. He is known primarily for his portraits and figurative paintings, and works by him are held in the collection of the Zeeuws Museum.

The portrait is a fascinating example of early 20th-century realism. From a distance, Hendrikse creates a remarkably convincing likeness, with the restrained palette and formal composition expected of a gentleman's portrait of the period. Yet the closer you look, the more expressive the painting becomes. The surface is built up with hundreds of small, distinct touches of colour, particularly visible in the face, hair and clothing. These tiny brushstrokes give the otherwise formal portrait a surprising sense of movement and texture.

It is not quite Pointillism in the strict art-historical sense, but there is something of that same fascination with how individual marks of colour can come together to create a convincing image. From across the room, we see the gentleman. Up close, we see the painting.

The result is a portrait that feels both traditional and quietly modern: a formal Belle Époque gentleman rendered with great precision, but with a lively, almost shimmering surface that rewards a closer look. Framed in an elegant giltwood frame, he would make a particularly handsome addition to a library, study or room filled with other intriguing faces from the past.

A wonderfully understated portrait, with more going on beneath the surface than first meets the eye.

SKU: IC-PM-2325
A framed portrait painting of a man with a mustache, wearing a dark suit and white shirt, enclosed in an ornate gold frame against a dark gray wall. Available via Wildschut Antiques.
A Portrait by W.N. Hendrikse, 1902 Sale price€780,00