Anthonie van Dyck created a series of 80 portraits of dignitaries and artists entitled The Iconography while he was in Antwerp, between his return from Italy in 1626 and his departure for England in 1631. This print depicts the history painter Jan Snellix (1544-1638). The series, left unfinished, reveals the artist's astonishing virtuosity with the etching needle, often drawing spontaneously on the copper plate, as seen in this and other early known states. Professional engravers later embellished the image with more ornament to finish the plate.