William Perkins, D.D.

About this work

This is a black-and-white portrait of a bearded man in a dark, ruffled collar. He’s holding a round object in his right hand, and his left hand rests on a book. Around his head is a decorative border with Latin words like *EFFIGIES DOCTIS VIRIS* and *OBIT 1602*. The words below say he was a scholar from Cambridge who wrote widely, even though he had a lame right hand. His image is surrounded by small figures and symbols, like a skull and a lamp. This is an example of engraving, a technique where artists etch lines into metal plates.