Kardinal Jules Mazarin

Art Historical Context

This intimate copperplate engraving by Balthasar Moncornet portrays Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the Italian-born statesman who rose to become chief minister of France under the young Louis XIV. Created on paper measuring just 15.5 by 11.2 centimeters, the print exemplifies the reproductive power of engraving, a technique prized in the seventeenth century for its ability to capture fine detail and distribute images of prominent figures across Europe. Moncornet, active in Paris as both engraver and publisher, specialized in such portraits that served both as personal mementos and instruments of political image-making. Mazarin’s shrewd diplomacy helped end the Thirty Years’ War and shape the absolutist French state, yet he remained a controversial figure during the civil unrest known as the Fronde. The small scale of this print suggests it was intended for private contemplation or inclusion in albums rather than public display. Now preserved in the Belvedere’s collection in Vienna, the work offers visitors a tangible connection to the networks of power and artistry that defined Baroque Europe.

About the Artist

Balthasar Moncornet · 1600–1668

Balthasar Moncornet (c. 1600–1668) was a French engraver and print publisher who became one of the most prolific portrait printmakers of seventeenth-century France. Born in Rouen, he established a highly productive workshop in Paris on the Rue Saint-Jacques, the traditional center of the French print trade. Despite being blind in one eye — a remarkable handicap for an engraver — Moncornet produced...