Jacob Cats, Poet
1635
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1635
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
This is a black-and-white portrait of a man with a serious face and a thick mustache. He’s wearing a ruffled collar and a chain with a pendant. The background is plain, and the whole image is framed inside a circle with some text around it. The text below looks like a poem in Dutch, which fits the portrait’s title. The artist used lines and shading to create depth, which is typical for this kind of print. Next, check out engraving to see how artists like this made detailed images with just lines.
