Jacques Amelot
ca. 1655
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 11/16 × 6 7/8 in. (22.1 × 17.5 cm) trimmed to oval
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Louis R. Metcalfe, 1928
Accession Number
28.57.96
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the refined world of 17th-century French portraiture with Robert Nanteuil's engravingJacques Amelot* (ca. 1655). Nanteuil, one of the finest engravers of his era, captures the likeness of Jacques Amelot a notable French diplomat and during the early reign of Louis XIV. This intimate oval portrait, trimmed from a rectangular sheet measuring 8 11/16 × 6 7/8 inches (22.1 × 17.5 cm), the meticulous craft of engraving, where fine lines incised into a copper plate create subtle textures in clothing, hair, and expression. Nanteuil's work belongs to the Baroque tradition but shines in the p...
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...