William Sancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury
late 17th century
Medium
engraving
Dimensions
plate: 20.3 × 14.4 cm (8 × 5 11/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1951.11.853
Art Historical Context
Behold the striking engraving *William Sancroft, of Canterbury* by Robert White, crafted in the late 17th century This intimate portrait, measuring 20.3 × 14.4 cm the plate, captures the dignified likeness of Sancroft, pivotal figure in England's Anglican Church during a turbulent era. White, a masterful English engraver active in the Restoration period, specialized in such precise reproductions of clergy, nobility, and scholars, making high-profile portraits accessible beyond oil paintings. Engraving, White's chosen medium, involved incising fine lines into a metal plate with a burin, then i...
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...