1: circa 1710 (Age 25)
Artist
Platzer, Christoph (Joh. Chr.) (Dates unknown; court painter at the bishop’s
principality at Passau around 1720)
Description
Upper body turned to the right, modern wig, white neckpiece (silk shawl?), blue
coat; mounted in a frame of silver filigree work with jewels (diamonds?)
Type and material: H (height) and W (width) in centimeters
Parchment: 6.77 x 4.78 oval
Date of creation:
Circa 1710
Comments:
This is considered to be the earliest transmitted authentic portrait of Handel
Sources and illustrations:
Flower 2 1923, p. 62, 1947, p. 96 ; Coopersmith, p. 161 note 51
; Smith 131 ; Werner, Edwin: Georg Friedrich Händel : Miniatur von Georg Platzer, um 1710. - In:
HHM (1992)1, p. 22-23
Provenance:
According to correspondence of W. C. Smith, based on a letter from Croft-Murray
dated November 4, 1958, the miniature was bought at auction at Sotheby’s on June 28, 1920 by B.
Shaw. It was subsequently sold to the Handel House in 1938 for £950 (purchase list of April 1, 1938
– March 31, 1939, No. 382). It was stolen from the Handel House in 1948 and its whereabouts remains
unknown.
Owner and classification:
HH / lost (unknown)
