Henri II, Duc de Nemours
1652
Medium
engraving
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.6582
Art Historical Context
Step into the refined world of 17th-century French portraiture with Robert Nanteuil's engraving *Henri II, Duc de Nemours* (1652), now housed in the National Gallery of Art's Rosenwald Collection. Nanteuil, one of France's premier engravers during the early Baroque era, masterfully captures the noble bearing of Henri II de Savoie, a prominent duke and military figure who met a tragic end that same year at the Battle of Castelnaudary. This print exemplifies the era's fascination with aristocratic likenesses, serving as both a personal memento and a symbol of status amid Louis XIV's rising absol...
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...