Portrait of Lieven Willemsz van Coppenol, known as ‘The Smaller Plate’, Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1658
etching, h 257mm × w 191mm More details
This is the first portrait etching Rembrandt made of Lieven van Coppenol. The print shows the calligrapher at his desk in a domestic interior. His grandson looks on as he pens a perfect circle, proof of his skill. The presence of the boy possibly alludes to Coppenol’s previous post as a schoolmaster, which he had been forced to give up following a nervous breakdown.
