Portrait of Emperor Charles V

A bearded man with short curled hair stands in three-quarter view in polished plate armor, one gauntleted hand resting on his hip and the other holding a long sword. A plumed helmet sits on a stone ledge at right, and a drape hangs behind him. The fine crosshatched engraving gives the armor a metallic sheen.

Look closer: The engraver's signature 'Lucas Vorsterman' appears in small script at the lower left corner, with a publisher's line at lower right.

Artist

Lucas Vorsterman I

Date

ca. 1620–30

Medium

Engraving; only state

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

2781 × 3652 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Georgiana W. Sargent, in memory of John Osborne Sargent, 1924