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Paintings and drawings, from 16th to 19th century
Eduard Houbolt (Hof van Delft, 1885 – The Hague, 1954)
Iris Numerata
Signed, dated and inscribed “Eduard Houbolt / fecit. ad vivum / 10. Juni. 1947 / IRIS NUMERATA” (recto) and “fig. 2. / 1/2/ Vos […] verso / k 4689/3” (verso).
Pastel on paper, watermark “G Schut & Zonen”.
22 × 24.9 cm.
Eduard Houbolt was born in Hof van Delft (now part of Delft) in 1885. He studied at the Akademie voor Beeldende Kunsten in The Hague from 1905 to 1908. A self-portrait dated 1909, the year he began working as an independent artist, is preserved in the Museum Prinsenhof in Delft.
Houbolt sojourned in France and Belgium between 1925 and 1926 (in Paris and Bruges), and again in 1939 (in Antwerp and Lier). In 1939 he settled permanently in The Hague, where he remained active until his death in 1954. He was a member of both the Haagse Schetsclub and the Nederlandse Kunstkring. According to P.A. Scheen, he was especially admired for his topographical views of Delft, Rijswijk, and The Hague.
Executed in delicately applied pastel, the present drawing captivates with its striking realism and immediate visual impact. While the skin is rendered with swift parallel strokes, the eyelashes and iris are treated with minute precision. The inscription “ad vivum” on the recto suggests that the eye may be that of the artist himself. The meaning of the number “2” within the iris, and the reason for the title Iris Numerata, remain uncertain.
The sheet also recalls Maurits Cornelis Escher’s famous drawing of his own eye, executed in September 1946 as a study for the mezzotint completed the following month. Although it is not known whether Houbolt was familiar with Escher’s work, one may wonder if the mezzotint could have served as a source of inspiration when he created the present drawing just nine months later.
