Georg Roggenbach

About this work

This is a black-and-white portrait of an older man with a long beard and hat, sitting in a chair. He’s holding a small object in one hand and resting his other arm on the chair. Behind him, a window shows a cityscape with buildings and trees. The edges of the image have decorative patterns, almost like lace. The bottom of the print has Latin text and the year 1554. The man’s face looks serious, but his hands seem calm. This kind of detailed linework was made using a printing method that carves into a surface. Next, look up etching to see how artists like this created such sharp, precise images.