James I of England

Art Historical Context

Behold the regal portrait *James I of England*, a finely wrought engraving by the Dutch artist Simon van de Passe, in 1616. Measuring 28.1 × 17.6 cm, this print from the National Gallery of Art's Rosenwald Collection captures the monarch during the height of his reign (1603–1625), when he united the crowns of England and Scotland. Van de Passe, a master engraver active in England at the time, specialized in detailed likenesses of royalty, making this work a testament to the era's fascination with printed imagery. Engraving, the medium here, involved incising intricate lines into a copper plate with a burin, inking it, and pressing paper to create multiples—a revolutionary technique for disseminating royal portraits across Europe. Unlike paintings reserved for the elite, such prints entered homes, books, and collections, amplifying James I's image as a divine-right ruler amid political tensions like the Gunpowder Plot aftermath. This piece exemplifies early 17th-century printmaking's cultural power, blending technical precision with propaganda. Visitors, imagine it pinned to a scholar's wall or bound in a family Bible— a window into Stuart England's visual world.

About the Artist

Simon de Passe · 1590–1647

Simon de Passe (c. 1595–1647), born in Cologne to the renowned Dutch engraver and publisher Crispijn van de Passe the Elder and his wife Magdalene, grew up in a family dynasty of printmakers who had fled Antwerp due to religious persecution as Anabaptists. The second son among five siblings—four of whom became engravers, including brothers Crispijn II and Willem, and sister Magdalena—he trained un...