Leopold Dick

Hieronymus Hopfer

1538

ink

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Renaissance Renaissance Portrait

About this work

This etching shows a man in a hat and fancy coat, his hand resting on a table. The lines are sharp and deep, giving the picture a rough, sketchy look. You can almost feel the pressure Hieronymus Hopfer put into the needle on the plate. Renaissance artists loved prints like this because they let ideas spread fast. Hopfer worked in Germany where printmaking was huge then. Try looking up Albrecht Dürer if you like Hopfer’s style.