Michel Le Masle

Art Historical Context

This elegant engraving, *Michel Le Masle* by Robert Nanteuilca. 1658), captures the poised likeness of its namesake subject, likely a notable figure of 17th-century France Nanteuil, one of era's premier portrait engravers, worked in the refined style of the French Baroque, producing intricate images that immortalized intellectuals, courtiers, and clergy for Louis XIV's flourishing cultural scene. His portraits, often based on preparatory drawings or paintings, emphasized psychological depth and aristocratic elegance, making this piece a prime example of his mastery. Rendered as the first state of three (per Petitjean & Wickert cataloguing), this impression preserves the purest form of Nanteuil's meticulous line work before later alterations. Engraving, an intaglio technique where the artist incises fine lines into a copper plate for inking and printing, allowed for exceptional detail in textures like lace collars and furrowed brows—hallmarks of the medium's precision. Measuring 13 1/16 × 9 3/4 inches on the plate, it exemplifies the portability and reproducibility of prints, democratizing elite portraiture. Today, this rare first-state work resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, a 2001 gift from Lev Tsitrin. It invites visitors to appreciate how 17th-century prints bridged art and history, preserving the faces of a pivotal age.

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...