Abraham de Haen

Abraham de Haen (6 April 1707 in Amsterdam – 8 August 1748 in Amsterdam), also known as Abraham de Haan, was a Dutch draughtsman and engraver known particularly for his drawings of castles and manors. He was also a painter and poet.

He referred to himself as Abraham de Haen de Jongere (Abraham de Haen the Younger) to distinguish himself from his father, who was also called Abraham. This name also distinguishes him from the 17th-century painter Abraham de Haen the Elder.

Life and work Abraham de Haen was born in Amsterdam in 1707 into a Dutch Reformed family as the first of two children; his younger sister Anna was born a year later. His parents were Abraham de Haen (1779-1747) and Anna Preyger (±1684-1727). De Haen's father worked as a wheat buyer and later became a bookkeeper. De Haen also contributed poems to Dichtkundige Lauwerbladen, gestrooid voor zyne doorluchtige hoogheid Willem Karel Hendrik Friso, a series of books in poetry form published 1747-1750 that described recent events, particularly the appointment in 1747 of William IV, Prince of Orange as stadtholder.

Abraham de Haen married the noblewoman Katherina van Hoek in Amsterdam on 21 August 1725; Pieter Langendijk composed a poem for the event. De Haen died on 8 August 1748, at the age of 41, just one year after the death of his father, and was buried on 13 August at the Leidse Kerkhof cemetery (now Raamplein square) in Amsterdam. The records stated his place of residence as the Leidsegracht canal, near the corner with Leidsedwarsstraat.

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has a sketchbook and a number of drawings by De Haen. The museum also has a 1771 portrait of De Haen painted by Jan Maurits Quinkhard.