"this is a portrait of christiaan van molhoop, running footman to baron nagell, the dutch ambassador to london. He is shown wearing the flamboyant uniform of nagell’s servants, referencing the red, white and blue of the dutch flag. As a footman he was employed to run ahead of carriages to ensure the road was clear and to announce nagell’s arrival. The pastel was previously titled ‘baron nagell’s footman’. Christiaan van molhoop was identified as the sitter in 2021. He was born into slavery on the molhoop plantation in suriname, a former dutch colony in south america. He was taken to amsterdam in 1761 and formally released from slavery in 1779. He started working for nagell in the 1780s. He died in lochem, netherlands in 1816. ". Date: circa 1795. Dimensions: height: 72.5 cm (28.5 in); width: 61 cm (24 in). Medium: pastel on paper. Collection: Tate Britain. Ozias Humphry - Christiaan van Molhoop (c. 1795)
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