Green, Valentine (after Godfrey Kneller)

In this mezzotint engraving by Valentine Green, Joseph Carreras (?–1732), a Spanish poet and chaplain to Catherine of Braganza, is shown with pen poised over paper. With his head tilted to the left and his focus directed off frame, he is captured mid-thought. Part of the purpose of prints such as this one was to confer gentlemanly status on the activity of literary endeavor whether pursued domestically or by foreigners.