Charles Howard Hodges (1764-1837) Lot n° 37

"Portrait of an unknown gentleman (possibly the Amsterdam art dealer Sebastiaan Buffa (active c.1800-36)" c.1820. Pastel on paper. Size 29 x 24 cm, mounted in (original?) gilded frame. Charles Howard Hodges (1764-1837). Hodges, born in Portsmouth, was an accomplished portraitist, active in the Hague since 1792. He moved with his family to Amsterdam in 1797, where he lived with his teacher Johann Friedrich August Tischbein (1750-1812) at Prinsengracht no. 205. Tischbein taught Hodges to work in the pastel technique, and he soon became a very successful and was a prolific portraitist himself, producing over 700 drawings, pastels, gravures and paintings. The pastel’s sitter can possibly be identified with the Amsterdam art dealer Sebastiaan Buffa, who in 1820 (together with his brother Jan/Giovanni) took over his father's art dealership on Kalverstraat, since renamed the firm Frans Buffa & Sons. The implant of the hair, position of the ears in relation to both eyes, dimple in chin, pronounced eyebrows and, of course, the contacts that may have existed professionally with Hodges weigh in on the proposed identification. The dating of c.1820 also fits exactly with a memorable moment and a suitable occasion for a portrait commission on the part of Sebastian. (see also the 2016/17 Singer Laren exhibition catalogue Beauty for sale, Kunsthandel Frans Buffa & Sons, 1790-1951; Annemiek Hoogenboom, 'De stand des kunstenaars', p. 201). Sebastian and Jan Buffa returned to their native village of Pieve Tesino in Italy in 1836. Provenance: Private Collection, Amsterdam The artwork is located in Amsterdam, Netherlands