This famous portrait of Ortelius, at the age of about 50, was engraved by Philippe Galle and appeared in the Theatrum from 1579 onwards. Few other portraits of the great cartographer have survived. The Latin title translation is, "By looking, Ortelius gave to mortal beings the world, by looking at his face, Galleus gave them Ortelius." The portrait is surrounded in a strapwork and garland frame. Latin text on verso.

References:

Condition: B+

A sharp impression with full contemporary color with gilt highlights on a sheet with the crossed arrows watermark commonly found on Ortelius maps. There is light toning, marginal soiling, and some light dampstains along the edges of the sheet. There are two small wormholes in the decorative surround at top, and another in the top margin. The green pigment has browned, but the paper is still supple.