Late 17th-Century German School, Portrait Of A Young Nobleman

Late 17th-Century German School, Portrait Of A Young NoblemanThis late 17th century German portrait depicts a young nobleman of the German lands, possibly Rudolf von Breitenbach of Hesse. His brown curls are arranged in the elegant style of the age, and he wears ceremonial armour. You'll notice that on the sitter's right arm, there's a finely modelled grotesque. This is known as a 'mascaron', and it served as both ornament and omen: a talisman of vigilance and a subtle echo of ancient Rome. Despite the armour,

For those that look carefully

An exquisite 18th-century copper engraving from the highly lauded publication

Being raised in such surroundings would’ve given the young lad plenty of creative inspiration and it’s likely he filled his sketchbooks with impromptu studies of hungry patrons

iconography was often consistently reused

he lived in Amsterdam and The Hague

the river widens into the distance beneath a sky glowing with warm pinks

and Mr Henning was precipitated into the road falling with such violence as to break one his legs’

This early 20th-century watercolour by British artist Thomas Frederick Mason Sheard (1866-1921) depicts a sun-drenched mountain track with figures

New Brunswick (1834)’

rather than pursue this as a career

Labels & Inscriptions: The reverse bears a previous attribution to Jacob Esselens (1626-1687)

A quiet moment of rest following a long day in the fields