Daniel Schnabel

Art Historical Context

This engraving by Jacob von Sandrart, created around 1658, presents a portrait of Daniel Schnabel in a compact format measuring just over seven inches tall. As a work from the mid-seventeenth century, it reflects the Baroque period’s interest in capturing individual likenesses through printmaking, allowing such images to circulate more widely than unique paintings or drawings could. Engraving, the medium employed here, involves incising fine lines into a metal plate to produce detailed and reproducible images. This technique was especially valued for portraits, offering both precision in rendering facial features and textures and the ability to create multiple impressions for collectors and scholars across Europe. Housed in the National Gallery of Art’s Rosenwald Collection, the print exemplifies how seventeenth-century engravings served as important cultural documents, preserving the appearances of notable contemporaries for future generations. Its modest size and careful execution invite close viewing, revealing the subtle artistry behind each line.