Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor

About this work

This is a black-and-white portrait of a man in a fancy coat and wig, sitting on a curved bench. He’s holding a rolled-up paper in one hand and resting his chin on the other. Above his head is a crown and a wreath of leaves, with some Latin words wrapped around it. The edges of the picture have a textured border, and more Latin words are written at the bottom. The artist used fine lines to create shadows and details, like the folds in the man’s coat. This kind of detailed linework is called cross-hatching. Look up technique: engraving to see how artists like this made prints.