Edouard Molé
ca. 1653
Medium
Engraving; first state of two (Petitjean & Wickert)
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 1/4 × 7 15/16 in. (28.6 × 20.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mr. Lev Tsitrin, 2001
Accession Number
2001.647.42
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite engraving, *Edouard Molé* (ca. 1653), captures the dignified likeness of a prominent French figure by Robert Nanteuil, one the finest portrait engravers of 17th-century France.anteuil, active during the reign of Louis XIV, specialized in meticulous prints of nobility, scholars, and officials, blending Renaissance precision with emerging Baroque elegance. Edouard Molé, likely a jurist or magistrate, is rendered with subtle modeling and fine line work that conveys both authority and introspection, making this a quintessential example of his mastery in the genre. As a first-state ...
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...