John Selden, Jurist and Antiquary

Art Historical Context

This engraving by Robert White, published in 1683, presents a portrait of John Selden, the renowned English jurist and antiquary whose scholarship shaped legal and historical thought in the seventeenth century. As a print, it belongs to a tradition of reproductive portraiture that allowed images of notable intellectuals to reach wider audiences beyond painted originals. Engraving was a favored medium at the time for its ability to capture fine details through precise incised lines on metal plates, producing multiple impressions that preserved the sitter’s likeness for posterity. White’s work ...

About the Artist

Robert White · 1645–1703

Robert White was a British engraver and draughtsman born in London in 1645, who became one of the most accomplished portrait engravers working in England during the latter decades of the seventeenth century. He trained under David Loggan, the Polish-born engraver who was among the dominant figures of portrait printmaking in Restoration England, and from Loggan he acquired both the technical master...