BEHAM, Barthel
(b. 1502, Nürnberg, d. 1540, Italy)

Chancellor Leonhard van Eck

1527
Engraving, 111 x 83 mm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Leonhard van Eck (1480-1550) was the chancellor to Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria, who was the patron of Barthel Beham. He opposed the Reformation and supported the Wittelsbach cause against the Habsburg monarchs.

This engraving bears the initials of Barthel Beham and also provides the name of the sitter, his age (47) and the date (1527). It is proposed that both the engraving and a portrait painting representing the same sitter are based on a now-lost drawing by the artist.




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.