Sir Walter Raleigh

Art Historical Context

This striking print, created around 1616 by Dutch engraver Simon van de Passe, captures Sir Walter Raleigh in his later years as a multifaceted figure of Elizabethan and Jacobean England. Raleigh appears as a statesman and explorer, distinguished by his neatly trimmed beard and mustache, and holding a baton that symbolizes his authority as a navigator and colonizer. The portrait reflects his enduring reputation as both a courtier and a writer, even as his fortunes declined under King James I. Van de Passe, active in England during this period, specialized in detailed portrait engravings that ...