Prof. Abraham (Bram) Frans Gips (1861-1943), 'Portrait of prof. Lodewijk Hendrik Siertsema (Veendam 1863 - 1945 Groningen)'

Prof. Abraham (Bram) Frans Gips (1861-1943), 'Portrait of prof. Lodewijk Hendrik Siertsema (Veendam 1863 - 1945 Groningen)'

Monogrammed and dated ‘1929’ lower right. Annotated 'Aet. Suae LXV' top left (= age 65). Verso: name of the sitter and artist on the stretcher. The sitter was a university lecturer in physics. The information plate on the frame shows the date (1904-1929): the period that Siertsema worked at the Delft University of Technology (Technische hoogeschool Delft). This portrait was probably painted on the occasion of his retirement. In 1904 he was appointed teacher at the Polytechnic School (Polyteschnische school), the predecessor of the Delft University of Technology. He quickly made a career for himself because in 1905, when the university changed its name, he was appointed professor of theoretical and applied physics. He would remain in this position until 1 September 1929. (See: J.L. van Soest. (1947). In memoriam L. H. Siertsema. Nederlandsch kruidkundig archief. Serie 3, 54(1), 240–242.). Like the sitter, the artist Bram Gips worked at the Polytechnic School in Delft as a teacher. He was apprenticed to Paul Tétar van Elven and is best known for his design for the ceiling of the salon in his mentor's museum: the Museum Paul Tétar van Elven.

Oil on canvas, 84,5 x 72,5 cm.