# Trajan

**Sebald Beham** (German, 1500–1550)  
1546  
engraving

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1943.3.1044. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.4262.html).

## About this work

The Roman emperor Trajan appears in profile, crowned with laurel, within a circular wreath and inscribed with his imperial titles in Latin, as if on an ancient coin or medal. Sebald Beham, one of the so-called Little Masters of Nuremberg, specialised in tiny, exquisitely detailed engravings, and his images of emperors drew on the Roman coins that Renaissance collectors prized. He dated the plate 1546.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Sebald Beham made this in 1546, aged 46. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

The image shows a profile of a person's head and partial neck within a circular laurel wreath. The individual has distinct facial features, including a prominent nose and chin. The hairstyle is tight, wavy locks pulled back, and a laurel wreath crowns the head. The background is plain, with an inscription reading "IMP. CAESAR. TRAIANVS. AVG." Below the portrait are the initials "ISB" and the year "1546". The overall style resembles a classical engraving, featuring detailed line work and traditional iconography.

_Description from the National Gallery of Art._

### How it was made

- **Engraving.** Lines cut directly into a metal plate with a steel burin, which makes them swell and taper. It took years to master, and for centuries it was how paintings travelled as pictures.

### [Sebald Beham](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/sebald-beham)

German, 1500–1550

Sebald Beham trained in Nuremberg in the orbit of Dürer and was one of the “Little Masters”, engravers known for tiny, finely worked plates of biblical, mythological and peasant subjects. In 1525 he, his brother Barthel and Georg Pencz were tried and banished from the city as the “godless painters” for their radical religious views. He later settled in Frankfurt, where he worked prolifically on engravings, woodcuts and book illustrations.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Print
- The artist was 46
- Century: 16th century
- Subjects: plant, Leaf, Portrait, Man, Writing
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1338.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1338/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/trajan-nga-4262).