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David Jenkins

Unknown

1623

ink

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Renaissance Baroque Portrait

Dominant colour

David Jenkins is a 1623 ink by Unknown, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1623 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This is a black-and-white portrait of a serious-looking man in old-fashioned clothes. He’s holding a folded paper in one hand and a small object—maybe a ring or a key—in the other. His dark hat sits low over his forehead, and his beard is neatly trimmed. The background is plain, so all the focus is on his face and hands. The text below the image is a poem about a man named Jenkins who stood up to powerful people. It’s written in a style that sounds like it’s from a long time ago. If you like this kind of detailed portrait, look up engraving to see how artists created sharp images like this before color printing.