Sir Martin Frobisher

Willem de Passe and Magdalena de Passe

National Gallery of Art

The image is an engraved portrait showing an upper-body view of a man identified as "MARTINUS FROBISHERUS" in the surrounding text. The man is depicted in a formal pose with his head turned slightly to his right, gazing forward. His facial features include a strong nose and a neatly groomed mustache and beard. His hair appears wavy and is styled neatly. He is wearing a period-appropriate outfit consisting of a doublet with intricate decoration around the shoulders and a ruff collar. The background within the oval frame is textured with dense horizontal and vertical lines. The exterior of the frame consists of plain paper with a handwritten Latin inscription below the oval. The entire image is framed by a plain, slightly textured sheet of paper.