Portrait of a Young Man (probably a self-portrait)

Art Historical Context

In the mid-17th century, during the height of the Dutch Golden Age, Cornelis Visscher created this sensitive Portrait of a Young Man. Likely a self-portrait, the drawing captures a moment of quiet introspection through the artist’s direct gaze. Visscher, celebrated primarily as an engraver, demonstrates here his exceptional skill as a draftsman, using the medium to explore likeness and character with remarkable subtlety. Executed in black chalk on antique laid paper, the work highlights the tactile qualities of the medium—its ability to produce soft tonal gradations and precise lines suited to intimate studies. At roughly 8 by 7 inches, the compact scale encourages close examination, revealing the texture of the paper and the artist’s confident handling of light and shadow. Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2022 through the Frits and Rita Markus Fund, this drawing adds a personal dimension to the museum’s holdings of Dutch works on paper, inviting visitors to consider the private creative process behind Visscher’s more widely known prints.

About the Artist

Cornelis Visscher · 1629–1658

Cornelis Visscher (1629–1658) was a Dutch Golden Age engraver, draughtsman, and printmaker born in Haarlem, the brother of fellow artists Jan de Visscher and Lambert Visscher. Little is known of his early life, but he studied under the Haarlem painter and engraver Pieter Claesz Soutman, with whom he closely collaborated from 1649 to 1650, producing numerous portrait engravings for Soutman's print ...