Johannes Polyander, Doctor of Divinity and Teacher
1551 to 1600
Medium
engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 18.5 × 12.5 cm (7 5/16 × 4 15/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1950.14.1012
Art Historical Context
Behold *Johannes Polyander, Doctor Divinity and Teacher*, a detailed engraving by Willem Jacobsz Delff created after a portrait by the renowned Dutch painter Michiel van Miere. Produced between 1551 and 1600, this modest sheet measures just 18.5 × 12.5 cm, capturing likeness of Polyander, a prominent Calvinist theologian and educator at Leiden University during the Dutch Reformation. As a key figure in religious scholarship, Polyander's image reflects the era's emphasis on learned piety amid the Protestant intellectual revival. Delff's mastery of engraving—a meticulous intaglio technique invo...