Chanceliere Pierre Séguier
Medium
Engraving; first state of four (Petitjean & Wickert)
Dimensions
Sheet: 15 1/2 × 11 11/16 in. (39.4 × 29.7 cm) Plate: 13 1/8 × 10 in. (33.3 × 25.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1920
Accession Number
20.13.19
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the grandeur of 17th-century with *Chanceliere Pierre Ségu*, a masterful engraving created in 1657 by the acclaimed portrait engraver Robert Nanteuil after a design by Charles Le Brun the leading painter of Louis XIV's court. This first state of four—before later alterations—captures Chancellor Pierre Séguier a pivotal figure who served under both Louis XIII and the young Sun King, wielding immense influence over French law and governance during turbulent times of the Fronde rebellions. Nanteuil's engraving technique shines here, with intricate line work rendering Ségu's stoic featu...
About the Artist
Robert Nanteuil|Charles Le Brun · 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...