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Christoph Kress von Kressenstein

Unknown 19th Century

1850

ink

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Romanticism Early 19th Century Portrait

Dominant colour

Christoph Kress von Kressenstein is a 1850 ink by Unknown 19th Century, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Unknown 19th Century
When & what style?: 1850 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This is a black-and-white portrait of a man with curly hair and a serious face. He’s wearing a chainmail shirt and holding a long object, maybe a sword or staff. The background is plain, but the edges of the image are decorated with fancy letters and small symbols. The text around the portrait spells out his name—*Christoph Kress von Kressenstein*—and some other words in Latin and German. The lines and shading give it a textured look, almost like it was scratched into metal. If you like this style, check out engraving.