ticketsMember | Make a donation

Head of a Man in Three-Quarter Profile

1522
Not on view
This riveting engraving of an African is one of the rare depictions, if not the only one, of a black man as an independent subject in Northern European fifteenth and sixteenth-century art. Most likely not a portrait, the figure has a generalized character; he may have been intended to represent the African king from the Biblical scene of the Adoration of the Magi, often represented at this time as an African figure with a long jeweled earring. Characteristic of Crabbe's prints is his experimentation with ways of expressing tones and textures with the printed line. Here he contrasted the varied shades of the figure's dark skin, delineated with concentric lines that encircle the eye, with the many little curls of the hair. This is the only impression known of this print.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Head of a Man in Three-Quarter Profile
  • Artist: Frans Crabbe van Espleghem (Netherlandish, Mechelen ca. 1480–1553 Mechelen)
  • Date: 1522
  • Medium: Engraving
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 4 1/16 x 2 13/16 in. (10.3 x 7.1 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Louis V. Bell Fund and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1998
  • Object Number: 1998.415
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Christ as the Man of Sorrows, Frans Crabbe van Espleghem Netherlandish, Engraving and etching
Christ as the Man of Sorrows
Frans Crabbe van Espleghem
ca. 1522–25
Scenes from the Life of Saint John the Baptist, Frans Crabbe van Espleghem Netherlandish, Woodcut
Scenes from the Life of Saint John the Baptist
Frans Crabbe van Espleghem
Nicolaas Hogenberg
ca. 1522
The Adoration of the Shepherds, Frans Crabbe van Espleghem Netherlandish, Engraving
The Adoration of the Shepherds
Frans Crabbe van Espleghem
ca. 1522–25
Esther before Ahasuerus, Frans Crabbe van Espleghem Netherlandish, Etching
Returned to lender
Esther before Ahasuerus
Frans Crabbe van Espleghem
1500-1550
Esther before Ahasuerus, Frans Crabbe van Espleghem Netherlandish, Pen and dark brown ink with touches of gray-brown wash over black chalk, incised for transfer
Returned to lender
Esther before Ahasuerus
Frans Crabbe van Espleghem
ca. 1525

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.