Jean de Mesgrigny
ca. 1653
Medium
Engraving; second state of three (Petitjean & Wickert)
Dimensions
Sheet: 13 3/8 × 10 1/8 in. (33.9 × 25.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1920
Accession Number
20.13.20
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite engraving, *Jean de Mesgrigny ca. 1653, captures the dignified likeness of a French nobleman, complete with his coat of arms—a hallmark of 17th-century aristocratic portraiture. Created by master engraver Robert Nanteuil after a design by Jean Daret it exemplifies the collaborative artistry of the French Baroque era. Nante, one of the finest portrait engravers of his time, worked under the patronage of Louis XIV's court, producing prints that immortalized the era's elite with remarkable precision and elegance. As the second state of three (per Petitjean & Wickert catalog), this...
About the Artist
Robert Nanteuil|Jean Daret · 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...