Jan de Wael

About this work

This black-and-white portrait shows a man with a full white beard and ruffled collar. He’s wearing a dark robe and looks straight ahead with a serious expression. The lines are sharp, and the paper has a textured look. The name at the bottom reads *Ioannes de Wael*, with a note saying *Antverpiæ pictor humanarum figurarum*—meaning he was a painter from Antwerp. The artist’s signature says *Ant. van Dyck fecit aqua fortis*, which is Latin for “made with strong water,” a term for etching. Next, check out etching to see how artists like Van Dyck used this technique.