Cardinal Jules Mazarin

Art Historical Context

This exquisite engraving, *Cardinal Mazarin* (1661), captures the likeness of one of 17th-century France's influential figures: Jules Mazarin, the shrewd cardinal and chief minister to young King Louis XIV. Created as a collaborative effort between painter Pierre Mignard, who likely provided the original design, and master engraver Robert Nante, it exemplifies the refined portraiture of the French Baroque era. Nanteuil, renowned for his meticulous line work and royal commissions, elevated engraving to a high art form, producing portraits that rivaled paintings in detail and psychological depth. The second state of three (as cataloged by Petitjean & Wickert) reveals subtle refinements in the printing process, such as adjusted lines or added details, a common practice in 17th-century printmaking to perfect the image before wider distribution. Trimmed to 11 1/4 x 10 9/16 inches, this sheet from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department—generously gifted by Lev Tsitrin in 2000—served not just as commemoration following Mazarin's death that year, but as a tool for disseminating his formidable presence across Europe. Mazarin's era of political maneuvering and cultural patronage makes this print a window into absolutist France, blending artistry with power. Visitors will appreciate its technical precision and the engraver's ability to convey gravitas through intricate cross-hatching and shading.

About the Artist

Robert Nanteuil|Pierre Mignard · 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...