Jonathan Roelof Schenck

Period1821

MediumPastel on paper

Dimensions25.75 × 21.5 in. (65.4 × 54.6 cm)

InscribedFlorid inscription on the reverse of the bottom stretcher evidently written prior to the application of backing papers, "JRS Was Born 1782 Wen Drawd [sic] 1821 / 1782 / 39." The subject's initials are also written in the same hand on the top stretcher.

ClassificationsPortraits

Credit LineGift of William C. Riker, 1973

Object number1973.1

DescriptionThree-quarter length portrait of an adult male facing left, with a full ruddy face, brown eyes, dark curly hair brushed into a topknot above his forehead, and lengthy curly sideburns. He wears a bright blue coat with a double row of brass buttons, a white vest, a pleat-ruffled white shirt, and a white stock tied in a bow under his chin. The subject also wears an unusual gold pin fastened to the front of his shirt in the form of openwork entwined double hearts surmounted by what appears to be a pinkish-toned pearl. The background is a mottled cool bluish-green. Mounted on wood stretchers, and lined originally with a newspaper sheet from The Times and New Brunswick Advertiser dated 3 February 1820.
Curatorial RemarksThirty-nine year old Jonathan dressed carefully for his portrait, bright brass buttons gleaming against his blue coat. Atop the finely starched shirtfront ruffles he fastened a gold wirework pin in the shape of two entwined hearts with a small pearl in the center. The pin may have been a gift from his wife Sarah. Jonathan’s portrait and that of his wife include a detail not seen on any other Williams portrait. A thin blue silk ribbon was glued along the edges of each portrait, visible under the glass. The ribbon may have been added by the craftsman who framed the portraits. NotesJonathan Roelof Schenck (1782 - 1864) was the fourth of six children of Roelof H. Schenck (1752-1800) and Sarah Schenck, his cousin (1759-1811). Jonathan married Sarah Peacock on 3 March 1819. The couple had two children. Jonathan owned a farm in Marlboro, Monmouth County, which he left to his son Elias. He was somewhat of a local character. One story related how he had a tombstone made for himself, carved and inscribed with all but a date of death. He installed the stone on his farm and often went to visit it. Jonathan and his wife were both buried in the cemetery of Old Brick Reformed Church in Freehold, now Marlboro.

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