Robert Devereux, Second Earl of Essex
1850
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
About the artist
1850
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Robert Devereux, Second Earl of Essex is a 1850 ink by Unknown 19th Century, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This is a black-and-white engraving of a bearded man in fancy clothes. He wears a wide-brimmed hat and a ruffled collar, holding a rolled-up paper in one hand. The background is plain, but the edges of the image are decorated with swirls, crowns, and Latin words. Notice the tiny cross-hatching lines that create shadows and texture—this is how the artist built up the details. The text around him lists his titles, like "Earl of Essex," but the face looks serious and direct. Want to see how this kind of shading works? Look up cross-hatching.
