Anne of Austria
1671
Medium
Engraving; first state of two (Petitjean & Wickert)
Dimensions
Sheet: 20 7/8 × 16 5/8 in. (53.1 × 42.2 cm) Plate: 19 11/16 × 16 9/16 in. (50 × 42 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Morris Hawkes, 1926
Accession Number
26.27.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *Anne of Austria*, a masterful 1671 engraving by Robert Nanteuil, one of 17th-century France's premier portrait engravers. This first-state impression—before later revisions noted by scholars Petitjean and Wickert—depicts the formidable queen consort of Louis XIII and mother of Louis XIV. Anne, who served as regent during her son's minority from 1643 to 1651, wielded significant political influence amid the turbulent Fronde rebellions, embodying the era's royal splendor and intrigue. Nanteuil's genius shines in his meticulous line work, translating the subtlety of drawing into print wi...
About the Artist
Robert Nanteuil · 1623–1678
Robert Nanteuil (1623-1678) was a French portrait engraver, draughtsman, and pastellist who became the preeminent portraitist to the court of Louis XIV. His technical mastery and royal patronage fundamentally transformed the status of engraving in France, elevating it from a mechanical craft to a recognized fine art. Nanteuil stands as the outstanding French portrait engraver of the seventeenth c...