Antoon Cornelissen
1630/45
Medium
Etching and engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 21.1 × 15.3 cm (8 5/16 × 6 1/16 in.); Plate: 23.6 × 13.6 cm (9 5/16 × 5 3/8 in.); Sheet: 24.9 × 16.9 cm (9 13/16 × 6 11/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
55867
Art Historical Context
This striking portrait of Antoon Cornelissen, created by Flemish printmaker Lucas Vorsterman between 1630 and 1645, exemplifies the refined printmaking traditions of the Baroque era. Vorsterman, celebrated for his meticulous reproductive engravings after major painters like Peter Paul Rubens, here employs a masterful combination of etching and engraving. The technique allows for both fluid, expressive lines and precise tonal modeling, capturing the sitter’s dignified presence with remarkable clarity on the ivory laid paper. Prints such as this played a vital cultural role in seventeenth-centu...