Self-portrait, Wouter Johannes van Troostwijk, c. 1809
The promising painter Wouter van Troostwijk is said to have died young from a cold he caught while drawing outside at night. An artist’s life could hardly end more romantically! His atelier is pictured in this informal self-portrait, which he made shortly before his death. Grouped together on top of the cupboard are plaster casts of Classical sculptures, the models traditionally used by a painter.