Aluaso Semedo
Medium
engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 16.5 x 11.6 cm (6 1/2 x 4 9/16 in.) sheet: 25.1 x 18.1 cm (9 7/8 x 7 1/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of John O'Brien
Accession Number
1991.208.65
Art Historical Context
This engraving by Balthasar Moncornet, dated 1657, presents a finely detailed portrait of Aluaso Semedo on laid paper. Created through the precise incising of lines into a metal plate, the medium allowed for sharp, reproducible images that could be printed in multiple impressions—an essential technique in the 17th century for sharing likenesses of notable figures across Europe. Moncornet, a French engraver active during the Baroque period, was renowned for his portrait work, which combined technical precision with an elegant rendering of costume and expression. The plate’s compact size (just ...
About the Artist
Balthasar Moncornet
Balthasar Moncornet (c. 1600–1668) was a French engraver and print publisher who became one of the most prolific portrait printmakers of seventeenth-century France. Born in Rouen, he established a highly productive workshop in Paris on the Rue Saint-Jacques, the traditional center of the French print trade. Despite being blind in one eye — a remarkable handicap for an engraver — Moncornet produced...