Portrait of Adolph Occo III - Dominicus Custos

A detailed 1594 engraving by Dominicus Custos, capturing the portrait of physician Adolph Occo III in his later years.

This engraving by Dominicus Custos depicts Adolph Occo III, a physician and humanist, at the age of eighty. Custos, a Flemish printmaker who spent much of his career in Augsburg, was known for his technical precision in portraiture. The subject is presented within an oval frame, a common convention for Renaissance portrait prints, which allows for a focused study of the sitter's features.

Occo is shown in three-quarter profile, wearing a fur-lined garment and a ruff, attire that denotes his status and profession. The artist employs fine hatching and cross-hatching techniques to model the face, capturing the texture of the beard and the lines of age around the eyes. The background within the oval consists of dense, radiating lines that create a sense of depth and focus the viewer's attention on the sitter.

The surrounding text, inscribed in Latin within the border, provides biographical details, including the subject's age and his role as a physician. Below the portrait, a four-line Latin inscription offers a eulogistic commentary on his character and intellectual contributions. This work reflects the period's interest in documenting the likenesses of scholars and public figures through the medium of print, which allowed for the wider circulation of such images across Europe.

As a piece of historical documentation, the print captures the aesthetic of late sixteenth-century portraiture, where the emphasis lies on clarity, anatomical accuracy, and the dignified presentation of the individual. The controlled line work and the formal composition demonstrate the high level of craftsmanship expected of professional engravers during this era. This print remains a clear example of the intersection between medical history and the visual arts in the early modern period.