Antique Portrait of William Charles Henry Friso of Orange by Houbraken '1751'

Jacobus Houbraken was a Dutch engraver and the son of the artist and biographer Arnold Houbraken, whom he assisted in producing a published record of the lives of artists from the Dutch Golden Age. Houbraken was born in Dordrecht and learned the art of engraving from his father. In 1707 he moved to Amsterdam, where for years he helped his father with his magnum opus, his art historical work The Great Theatre of Dutch Painters (1718–21). When his father died, he assisted his mother with the last proofs of the manuscript before publishing. With this project, he started his portraits of Netherlandish celebrities, that are today in many cases the only likenesses left of these people. Houbraken was influenced by studying the works of Cornelis Cort, Jonas Suyderhoef, Gerard Edelinck and the Visschers. He died, aged 81, in Amsterdam.