Lucas Vorsterman was an engraver whom artists trusted to
reproduce their works. He was a friend to both Peter Paul
Rubens and his celebrated pupil, Anthony van Dyck, and often
contributed his own ideas to their designs. Van Dyck’s portraits
of artists enhanced their reputation. His large series of engraved
portraits called the Iconography, about 1630, presented artists like
Vorsterman as respectable members of society alongside wealthy
merchants and aristocrats. This marked the beginning of wider
interest into artists’ lives, and printed portraits of them began to
gain popularity and commercial value.

1 Related People