Robert Bertie, First Earl of Lindsey

Art Historical Context

Behold the elegant engraving *Robert Bertie First Earl of Lindsey*, a fine example of 16th-centuryure reproduced through the masterful art of engraving. Created by Robert van Voerst after an original by Georg Geldorp, this print dates to between 1551 and 1600. Measuring a modest 22.7 × 16.8 cm, it captures the noble bearing of Robert Bertie, an influential English courtier and military leader whose likeness would have circulated among the elite during the Elizabethan and early Jacobean eras. Engraving, the medium here, was a revolutionary technique in Renaissance Europe, allowing detailed images to be precisely incised into copper plates and multiplied for wide distribution. Van Voerst, a skilled Dutch engraver active in England, faithfully translated Geldorp's painted original into intricate lines that convey texture, expression, and status—hallmarks of period portraiture. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's Rosenwald Collection, this print highlights the era's fusion of Flemish precision and English aristocratic tradition. Such works were not mere decorations but tools of memory and prestige, preserving the visages of nobility for patrons, collectors, and history itself. A testament to printmaking's democratizing power, it invites us to ponder the faces behind the Tudor-Stuart power plays.