Emperor Charles V

A bearded man with a ruff and a chain of honor fills an oval medallion at the center of an elaborate architectural arch. Allegorical female figures stand on either side, and seated figures with books and a globe occupy the base, while a winged figure crowns the pediment above. The dense linework and ornamental framing are typical of a sixteenth-century printed commemorative portrait.

Look closer: A small seated figure with a book and a globe appears at the bottom center, beneath the medallion.

Artist

Anonymous

Date

1550

Medium

Woodcut; reverse copy

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

2688 × 3778 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1956