Johann Hubner (1668-1731) was a German teacher and scholar who popularized the study of geography in schools with his ‘Questions and Answers to Geography’ (1694). His most successful work, however, was his children’s Bible ‘Biblische Historien’ (1714) which was designed for use in the classroom; it went through 270 editions and was translated into 15 European languages during the subsequent decades.

The present portrait by mezzotinter Johann Kenckel shows Huber wearing a huge powdered wig, a cravat and his academic gown, which spills over the stone oval frame. Latin words within the frame identify his name and positions, while further text beneath the image consists of four lines of Latin verse penned by Johann Baptist Homann:

“Hubneri faciem bene sculptam plaudite Musae / Vester in hac multis dignus Apollo placet. / Miratur tantum felix Hamburga Magistrum, Deq. Scholis meritum Teutona terra Virum” (‘May the Muses approve of Hubner’s well-drawn visage; in this, may your fitting Apollo please many. Fortunate Hamburg is enthralled by such a teacher, as is the land of Germany, at a man worthy of his disciples’).