Drawn to Old Masters: Copies in Carel Joseph Fodor’s Collection

Carel Joseph Fodor (1801-1860) was an avid art collector. When he died, at the age of 59, he had amassed an impressive collection of 161 paintings, 877 drawings and 302 prints, which he bequeathed to the city of Amsterdam. Since 1963 that collection has been part of the collection of the Amsterdam Museum. A conspicuous feature of Fodor’s collection is that he did not collect Old Master paintings. Old Master painters and their most famous works did enter the collection in another way: in reproduction. More specifically, by means of copies in a variety of mediums: painted and in print, but particularly drawn. Fodor’s collection forms an excellent case to explore the popularity of drawn reproduction in the 18th and 19th century. It offered collectors like Fodor the double joy of appreciating the skill of the copyist and the reference to the original painting.