Letter P met bedelaar 1639 - 1643

"Letter P met bedelaar" is a 17th-century engraving by Claude Mellan, depicting a beggar sitting in the form of the letter "P." The artwork, now housed in the Rijksmuseum, exemplifies Mellan's mastery of the burin, evident in the intricate detail and subtle shading. The image is a striking example of the use of the letterform as a compositional element, and the combination of realism and symbolic representation is typical of the period.