Portrait of Nicolaas Rockox
by PONTIUS, Paulus, Copperplate engraving, 360 x 320 mm
Nicolaas Rockox (1560-1640) was the burgomaster (mayor) of Antwerp. His fame is largely attributed to his friendship to Rubens and the commissions he gave to this artist. His 17th-century patrician is housing a fine collection of Flemish art.
Anthony Van Dyck, like Rubens, also collaborated with engravers. Two of his portraits of Rockox.were engraved by Lucas Vorsterman and his pupil Paulus Pontius.
Paulus Pontius, an engraver in Antwerp, was the pupil of Lucas Vorsterman. Vorsterman engraved about fourteen prints after Rubens which represent the acme of Rubensian art in black and white. But at the end of two years, Rubens quarrelled with Vorsterman who even went so far as to threaten to kill him. Vorsterman was succeeded by his pupil Paulus Pontius, who accentuated the colourist tendency of his craft.