The image depicts a man seated and facing the viewer. He has a long, pointed beard and wears a tall headpiece. His head is slightly turned to his left. The man has deep-set eyes, a prominent nose, and a calm expression. He is wearing a long robe-like garment and a mantle or wide sash. The portrait is framed within an oval with a decorative border. In the top left corner, there is a crest with a coat of arms containing three symbols. The background features diagonal hatched lines, creating texture. The image appears to be engraved.
Read the visual description

The image depicts a man seated and facing the viewer. He has a long, pointed beard and wears a tall headpiece. His head is slightly turned to his left. The man has deep-set eyes, a prominent nose, and a calm expression. He is wearing a long robe-like garment and a mantle or wide sash. The portrait is framed within an oval with a decorative border. In the top left corner, there is a crest with a coat of arms containing three symbols. The background features diagonal hatched lines, creating texture. The image appears to be engraved.

National Gallery of Art · Print

Aluaso Semedo

Balthasar Moncornet

Date
1657
Medium
engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 16.5 x 11.6 cm (6 1/2 x 4 9/16 in.) sheet: 25.1 x 18.1 cm (9 7/8 x 7 1/8 in.)
Classification
Print
Accession number
1991.208.65
Credit line
Gift of John O'Brien
Time span
1651 to 1700
Department
CG-E

Subjects and terms

  • French
  • male
  • portrait
  • engraving
  • Semedo, Alvaro
Inscription

lower right in plate: B. Moncornet excudit; lower left in plate: 1657.; across bottom in plate: P. Aluaro Semedo Portughese, della Comp. a di Giesu, Venuto a Roma / Procurator delle prou. del Giapone et della China nell'an. 1642.

NGA object ID 78631. 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.