Portret van Aegidius de Glabbais

About this artwork

collector's mark: Lugt 2228

Art Historical Context

**Portret van Aegius de Glabbais** is a striking 1717 engraving by Andries van Buysen (.), a skilled Dutch printmaker active in the early18th century during the waning years of the Dutch Golden Age. Measuring an impressive 438 mm by 371 mm wide this portrait captures Aegid de Glabbais, likely a figure of the time—perhaps a scholar, collector, or local dignitary—rendered with the meticulous detail characteristic of period portraiture. Van Buysen's work reflects the era's emphasis on individualized likenesses, bridging Baroque grandeur with emerging Rococo elegance in Northern European art. As an engraving, the piece exemplifies a labor-intensive technique: van Buysen incised fine lines into a copper plate, using varying depths, hatching, and cross-hatching to create texture, shadow, and depth for ink transfer onto paper. This medium was prized for its reproducibility and durability, allowing portraits like this to circulate widely among collectors and elites. The presence of the collector's mark Lugt 2228—identified in Frits Lugt's comprehensive catalog of marks—underscores its provenance, linking it to esteemed 18th- or 19th-century collections and enhancing its historical value. Today, this artwork invites us to ponder de Glabbais's world: a time of intellectual vibrancy in the Dutch Republic, where engravings preserved legacies for posterity. A testament to van Buysen's technical prowess, it remains a window into 18th-century portrait traditions.