Read the visual description
The artwork depicts a man seated at a desk, engrossed in reading a large open book in front of him. He has a prominent nose, full beard, curly unkempt hair, and wears a textured robe. To his right, there is a large globe on a stand. The background shows detailed etching with light and shadow.
National Gallery of Art · Print
An Old Man Reading
Ferdinand Bol
- Date
- 1642
- Medium
- etching and drypoint on laid paper
- Dimensions
- plate: 21 x 16.4 cm (8 1/4 x 6 7/16 in.) sheet: 22.6 x 17 cm (8 7/8 x 6 11/16 in.)
- Classification
- Accession number
- 1994.60.5
- Credit line
- Gift of Ruth B. Benedict
- Time span
- 1601 to 1650
- Department
- CG-E
Subjects and terms
- amusement
- genre
- Dutch
- etching
- drypoint
- male
- figure
- Seated figure
- Reading
Provenance
Leroy-Latteux (died c. 1890), Amiens, France (Lugt 1744); Dr. Ruth B. Benedict (1913-1993), Washington; bequest to NGA, 1994.
Inscription
upper center in plate: F. bol f / 1642; by later hand, lower right verso in graphite: VII; by later hand, lower right verso in graphite: 8
Watermarks
Pascal Lamb
NGA object ID 75745. 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.