Portrait of Mr Koch 

This is Johann Heinrich Hasselhorst’s portrait of Mr. Koch, a pencil drawing now held at the Städel Museum. Hasselhorst, born in Frankfurt, spent his career in the service of that city’s institutions, including the Städel. This straightforward portrait provides an intimate window into the world of 19th-century German civic life. The choice of a profile view, a format associated with official portraiture, suggests the social standing of the sitter, Mr. Koch. But the soft pencil lines and the relative informality of the depiction suggest a close relationship between artist and sitter, possibly within the same social circles in Frankfurt. The history of portraiture is always a negotiation between the desire to represent an individual and the need to conform to social conventions. Art historians use museum archives, letters, and social histories to understand the precise nature of that negotiation. By researching the biographies of both artist and sitter, we can better understand the nuances of this compelling image.