Self-portrait 1759
Cornelis van den Berg
* 1699 in Haarlem † 1764 in Haarlem
Etching. Size of sheet: 13 x 6.6 cm.
With inscription in the plate "door hem zelfs Geteerskend en ge-etst 1759". Laid down on an early 19th century album sheet.
Literature: Nagler vol.1, p.433.
A very fine impression. Trimmed to the borderline.
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Corlnelis van den Berg was a talented draftsman and engraver with a relatively small print oeuvre. The present impression is the first of two known self-portraits: the second was executed in 1764 - the year of his death.
This self-portrait has a presence that is both commanding and endearing. Van den Berg presents himself as a man of considerable sartorial elegance with a hint of brocade on his coat. His hat and shoulders filling the frame in equal proportions he looks out at his audience, lips pursed in concentration, his soft yet slightly trepidatious eyes perhaps hinting at the fact that he may have made himself look younger than he actually was.