Portrait of Johanna Ziesenis-Wattier

Person depicted Johanna Ziesenis-Wattier (1762-1827)
Role Agrippina in Britannicus (Racine)
Artist J.W. Pieneman (1779-1853)
Medium Oil on canvas
Year before 1930

Emperor Napoleon called Johanna Ziesenis-Wattier the greatest tragedienne in Europe. Born in Rotterdam, Wattier played major roles at the Leidseplein in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Andries Snoek was her leading man, and their years together were a high point in Dutch theatre history, when classicism was the dominant movement. The theatre holds four portraits and a replica; the large portrait by J.W. Pieneman has hung in its place in the Koninklijke Foyer since 1900. The portrait by J.W. Pieneman hangs beside the door to that foyer. There are also portraits by Charles Howard Hodges and by J.B. Scheffer. The name of Johanna Ziesenis-Wattier appears on the front of the first balcony in the Main Auditorium (Grote Zaal) as well, and on the quay along the Lijnbaansgracht that is named after this great actor.