Portret van Lodewijk, markgraaf van Brandenburg

About this artwork

verzamelaarsmerk, verso, gestempeld: Lugt 2922

Art Historical Context

This striking portrait by Dutch engraver Gerard Valck depicts Lodewijk, Margrave of Brandenburg, a member of the powerful Hohenzollern dynasty during the late seventeenth century. Created on paper between 1662 and 1726, the work measures approximately 35 by 26 centimeters and exemplifies the refined printmaking tradition that flourished in the Dutch Republic. Valck, active as both an engraver and publisher, specialized in disseminating images of European nobility, helping to shape public perceptions of power and lineage across borders. The choice of paper as a medium underscores the print’s role in wider circulation, allowing aristocratic portraits to reach collectors, diplomats, and scholars far beyond court circles. Such works often served diplomatic or commemorative purposes, celebrating dynastic ties between Brandenburg-Prussia and other European houses. The presence of the Lugt 2922 collector’s stamp on the reverse further enriches its story, indicating that the sheet once belonged to a distinguished private collection and has been valued by connoisseurs for generations. Today the portrait offers viewers a tangible connection to the political and artistic networks of the Baroque era, when engraved likenesses helped construct and preserve the image of European elites.

About the Artist

Gerard Valck · 1652–1726

Gerard Valck (1652–1726) was a Dutch engraver, publisher, and cartographer whose career bridged the 17th-century Dutch Golden Age and the 18th-century Enlightenment. Born on September 30, 1652, in Amsterdam to a silversmith father, and dying on October 21, 1726, Valck played a crucial role in introducing and developing mezzotint printmaking in England while also establishing a significant publishi...