Art 72, American Art History By: Natasha LeBaron
Museum Paper
February 5, 2015

Portrait of Jacob Gerard Koch
Rembrandt Peale
Date 1817
Oil on Canvas

Jacob Gerard Koch was from Holland who lived in Philadelphia. Being a sharp businessman, Koch became wealthy by importing lines from Germany. With his money, he was able to purchase an estate in which seemed to be in a prominent part of Philadelphia. Not only was he a smart business man, he was also a patriot. When the war of 1812 broke out, he donated $5000 (about $89, 285.00 in today’s money) to help build a frigate that would help the American government win the war.

The marriage to Jane Griffith Koch was pretty much …show more content…
In his had he holds some kind of work document which appears that he just pulled it from his red leather wallet which contain more documents. When looking a the document closely, you can see the word “Ship” stamp on it. By showing this, he indicates how he obtained his wealth. The wallet looks expensive, made of rich red leather, and it’s placed on the table like it’s a very normal thing for him to do. He sits on what looks to be an Owen Jones’ side chair. With his arm across the chair and the bottom button undone on his coat, he gives very relaxed and self-assured look, a look of contentment and prominence. His coat is black made out of wool and it’s so skillfully painted is seems as though you can actually feel the wool with your fingertips. The coat is so delicately painted that you can even see the cuffs of the coat. The back of the color is somewhat warn out, indicating that he had worked hard to be in the position he was in. Under his coat, you can see that he is wearing a crisp white undershirt and through the top of the coat you can see a brocade made of satin. It s so delicately painted that you can even see the folding of the rubbles and the exquisite stitching. His shirt is beige and the caller sticks straight out as well. The hair on his head looks soft as if you could run your fingers through it. With a clean shave and his clothes put well tighter, he is emulating a man of importance, a man of wealth. Although his face and hand depict a heavy man, his body is not as big as it should be, the body does not match his face and hands. It seems to me as though the size of his body wasn’t as important to illustrate as was his wealth and