Portrait of Painter Jan Antoon Verschaeren (recto); Landscape (verso) (Main View)

Friedrich Preller was part of the brotherhood of German artists known as the Nazarenes, active during the early nineteenth century in Rome. Deeply pious, the Nazarenes aimed to revive religious painting, and they cherished the profound bonds of friendship among them. Portraits of artist friends were thus common, as seen in this sensitive portrayal of a Belgian artist active in Rome, Jan Verschaeren. Preller expertly uses the fine point of the graphite to pick out delicate details, including the sitter's brilliant, lustrous eyes.