Portretten van Hans Sebald Beham

About this artwork

Prent opgenomen in: Mander, Karel van; Jongh, Jacobus de (vert.). Het leven der doorluchtige Nederlandsche en eenige Hoogduitsche schilders. Amsterdam: Steven van Esveldt, 1764.

Art Historical Context

This etching by Jan l’Admiral, dated 1764, serves as the portrait of Hans Sebald Beham for a Dutch edition of Karel van Mander’s celebrated biographical work. Originally published in 1604, van Mander’s text chronicled the lives of Netherlandish and German artists; the 1764 Amsterdam version, translated by Jacobus de Jongh, brought these stories to a new generation of readers with fresh illustrations. Measuring just 157 by 103 millimetres, the print exemplifies the intimate scale often chosen for book illustrations of the period. Etching allowed l’Admiral to render fine lines and subtle tonal gradations suited to capturing the likeness of a sixteenth-century printmaker famed for his own meticulous engravings. Beham, one of the so-called “Little Masters,” specialised in small, detailed prints; placing his portrait within van Mander’s volume underscores the enduring respect for Northern Renaissance graphic artists well into the Enlightenment. The inclusion of such portraits helped transform a scholarly text into a visually engaging tribute, encouraging eighteenth-century audiences to appreciate the technical skill and cultural legacy of earlier German and Dutch masters.

About the Artist

Jan l'Admiral · 1699–1773

Jan l'Admiral (1699–1773) was a pioneering Dutch engraver whose mastery of color mezzotint technique and collaboration with leading anatomists made him a crucial figure in both artistic printmaking and scientific illustration. Born in Amsterdam in 1699 to an engraver father of the same name, l'Admiral belonged to a family of printmakers and received training that would position him at the forefron...