Nicolas Potier de Novion
1657
Medium
Engraving; first state of three (Petitjean & Wickert)
Dimensions
Sheet: 14 × 10 5/16 in. (35.6 × 26.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Lev Tsitrin, 2000
Accession Number
2000.416.7
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the opulent world of 17th-century France under Louis XIV, Robert Nanteuil's *Nicolas Potier de Novion (1657) captures essence of aristocratic portraiture through masterful engraving. Nanteuil, one of the era's premier printmakers, was renowned for his intricate portraits of nobility, clergy and royalty, blending Baroque elegance with unprecedented technical precision. This first-state impression—from a edition cataloged by Petitjean and Wickert—depicts the sitter, likely a prominent figure given the prominent coat of arms, gazing directly at the viewer with poised dignity. Engraving allowe...
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...