Christine, reine de Suède
Medium
Engraving; third state of three (Petitjean & Wickert)
Dimensions
sheet: 9 15/16 x 7 9/16 in. (25.3 x 19.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mr. Lev Tsitrin, 2001
Accession Number
2001.647.54
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the regal portrait *Christine, reine de Suède (1654), an exquisite engraving capturing Queen Christina of Sweden at a transformative moment in her life. Created through the masterful collaboration of French painter Sébastien Bourdon, known for his Baroque flair and dramatic compositions, and engraver Robert Nanteuil a leading portraitist of the 17th century, this work immortalizes the queen just as she abdicated her throne. Christina (1626–1689), a brilliant intellectual and patron of the arts, renounced Protestantism for Catholicism that year, embarking on a nomadic life across Europe ...
About the Artist
Robert Nanteuil|Sébastien Bourdon · 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...