Portrait of Everhard van Reyd, Councillor of William, Prince of Orange

Art Historical Context

Behold the striking *Portrait of Everhard vand, Councillor of William, Prince of Orange*, an engraving by the Dutch artist Jan Muller from 1602. This intimate print, measuring just 8 7/8 × 5 1/2 inches, captures van Reyd—a key advisor and historiographer to William the Silent, the father of Dutch independence during the Eighty Years' War against Spanish rule. Created over a decade after William's 1584 assassination, it van Reyd's loyalty amid the turbulent birth of the Dutch Republic. Muller's mastery shines in this third state of four, as cataloged in the New Hollstein series, showcasing the precision of engraving on a small scale. As a leading reproductive engraver influenced by Antwerp's Mannerist traditions, Muller rendered fine lines and textures that convey van Reyd's dignified gaze and scholarly attire, making the portrait both personal and emblematic of early 17th-century Dutch humanism. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, thanks to The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, this work highlights engravings' role in disseminating elite likenesses across Europe—bridging art, politics, and memory in the dawn of the Dutch Golden Age. A testament to enduring alliances!

About the Artist

Jan Muller · 1571–1628

**Jan Harmensz. Muller (1571–1628)** Born in Amsterdam in 1571, Jan Harmensz. Muller grew up immersed in the world of printmaking, as the son of the prominent engraver, publisher, and book printer Harmen Jansz. Muller. He studied under his father, mastering the engraving trade within the family business, The Gilded Compasses. Around 1589, Muller joined the workshop of Hendrick Goltzius in Haarlem...