Enhancing Engravings: Coloring in the 16th Century

Did you know that 16th century engravings allowed for creative license? Colors were often added after book production by their owners to enhance images, like this engraving of Jesus’ baptism by Jan Wierix, located in two different copies of the Plantin Polyglot Bible (1569 BIBL).

Click on the image above to move between versions and choose your favorite! Want to try your own hand at enhancing images from Pitts’ rare books? Check out the library’s “Scenes from the Bible” coloring book