Ben Jonson

About this work

This is a black-and-white portrait of a serious-looking man with a wreath of leaves around his head. He’s wearing a dark, ruffled collar shirt and a stiff, high-necked coat. The background is plain, but the border around him is packed with fancy Latin text in big, uneven letters. The wreath and text suggest this was meant to honor someone important. The lines on his face and the careful details in his clothing make him look like a scholar or writer. If you like this style, look up engraving to see how artists carved these precise lines.