John Selden

Art Historical Context

This engraving by Robert White, published in 1683, presents a portrait of John Selden, rendered with the meticulous detail characteristic of the medium. Engraving, which involves cutting fine lines into a metal plate to hold ink, allowed artists to achieve remarkable precision and tonal depth. The resulting prints could then be reproduced in multiple impressions, making such works an essential means of sharing images in the late seventeenth century. Measuring just over 8 by 5 inches, the sheet exemplifies the intimate scale often favored for portrait prints of the period. Housed in the Nation...

About the Artist

Robert White · 1645–1703

Robert White was a British engraver and draughtsman born in London in 1645, who became one of the most accomplished portrait engravers working in England during the latter decades of the seventeenth century. He trained under David Loggan, the Polish-born engraver who was among the dominant figures of portrait printmaking in Restoration England, and from Loggan he acquired both the technical master...