William Sermon, M.D.

About this work

This engraving shows a man in a dark coat with a white ruff collar. One hand grips a book, the other rests on a desk. The room is simple, lit by a single window. Sherwin used fine lines to shade every fold of fabric and wrinkle on the face. The technique is called cross-hatching, where parallel lines overlap to create shadows. It makes the image look three-dimensional. This style was common in the 1600s. Try another engraving by Sherwin, William.