Charles V, bust length, holding a sword, facing right
A bust-length woodcut portrait of a bearded man in highly detailed plate armor, turned to the right and holding a long sword upright across his chest. His gaze is steady and his hair is short and curled. Fine hatched lines model the armor, collar and background, and an inscription in a framed cartouche across the top reads CAROLVS IMPERATOR QVINTVS.
Look closer: A small ornate scrollwork border with decorative corner motifs frames the inscription at the top.
- Artist
- Giovanni Britto
- Date
- 1535–45
- Medium
- Woodcut
- Source
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Size
- 2685 × 3706 px
Public domain · The Metropolitan Museum of Art releases this image under CC0 (latest date 1545).
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (The Met Open Access, isPublicDomain=true)
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (The Met Open Access, isPublicDomain=true)
Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1917