Cornelis de Visscher

The engravers who work for Peter Paul Rubens had a rapid impact outside of their immediate circle. Their facility for creating an immensely subtle range of tones was particularly successful for portraiture as well as for the reproduction of paintings. Here, Cornelis Visscher depicted with striking naturalism the ruddy face, glossy coat, and silken beard of a clergyman. The sculptural volumes refer to Hendrik Goltzius, and the overall tonal subtleties, to Rubens.

Gellius Peri de Bouma (about 1579–1658) was the preacher of the Reformed Protestant Church in Zutphen. The inscription alludes to his venerable age of seventy-seven and his fifty-five years of service. In the style of Dutch portraits of the day, de Bouma looks straight into the viewer’s eye and raises his hand as if about to speak.