Portret van de kunstschilder en schrijver Karel van Mander op 56 jarige leeftijd. NL-HlmNHA 1477 53009566

The engraving depicts Van Mander in a three-quarter view wearing a prominent ruff collar. The portrait is surrounded by an oval border containing a Dutch motto and is flanked by decorative elements including two crowned swans and a grotesque mask. The work serves as a commemorative image for the author of the foundational Schilder-Boeck.

Van Mander was the intellectual leader of the Haarlem Mannerists and his 'Wtheleggingh op den Metamorphosis' provided a definitive Neoplatonic and moralizing framework for interpreting classical mythology in Northern Europe. His work emphasized the 'pictor doctus' (learned painter) who understood the hidden philosophical truths beneath poetic fables.