Michel de Marolles
1657
Medium
Engraving; first state of three (Petitjean & Wickert)
Dimensions
Sheet: 7 3/16 × 4 15/16 in. (18.2 × 12.5 cm) Plate: 6 1/2 × 4 3/8 in. (16.5 × 11.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1920
Accession Number
20.13.15
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite engraving, *Michel de Marolles* (1657), by Robert Nanteuil captures the likeness of the French abbé and scholar Michel de Marolles in meticulous detail. Nanteuil one of the finest portrait engravers of 17th-century France, as the official engraver to King XIV, renowned for his to convey personality and status through precise line work. This first state of three—before later revisions—offers a pristine glimpse into his masterful technique, printed on a modest plate measuring just 6½ × 4⅜ inches. Created during the height of the French Baroque era, the portrait reflects the era's...
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...