
Read the visual description
The image displays a man in a frontal seated position. He has a prominent nose, pronounced lips, and a small beard. His hair is shoulder-length, wavy, and parted in the center. He wears a dark garment with a white collar and extended cuffs. In his left hand, he holds a human skull on a table. His right hand is raised in a gesture. The background includes a curtain on the left and a cloud on the right with three descending light beams. The frame has inscriptions like "LIGNO CHRISTI FIXUS," "Sursum," and "Deorsum."
National Gallery of Art · Print
Benjamin Spenser (?)
Thomas Cross
- Medium
- engraving
- Dimensions
- plate: 22.6 × 15.5 cm (8 7/8 × 6 1/8 in.)
- Classification
- Print · Historical Portrait
- Accession number
- 1951.11.585
- Credit line
- Rosenwald Collection
- Time span
- 1601 to 1650
- Department
- CG-E
Subjects and terms
- British
Provenance
W. B. Dukes [d. 1942], London, (L.2757a); (Sotheby, London, sale July 8, 1942, no. 112); Hermann Marx [d. 1948], Surrey, (L.2816a); (Sotheby, London, sale May 24, 1948, no. 165); Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891 - 1979], Philadelphia, (L.1932d); gift to NGA, 1951.
NGA object ID 40867. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.