Omer Talon
1645/52
Medium
Engraving on paper
Dimensions
Plate: 27.4 × 19.7 cm (10 13/16 × 7 13/16 in.); Sheet: 31.5 × 23.4 cm (12 7/16 × 9 1/4 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
41711
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Omer Talon was the attorney general to the Parisian Parliament at the beginning of the Fronde, a period of civil war in France, known for opposing a major tax proposed by Louis XIV’s mother, Anne of Austria. With his singular style of engraving, Claude Mellan employed parallel lines, rather than cross-hatching, to create shading. This technique is visible on Talon’s cap, where Mellan thickened and darkened portions of the lines around its center to suggest a dark fabric lit from above. Since thi...
About the Artist
Claude Mellan · 1598–1688
Claude Mellan (1598-1688) was a French draughtsman, engraver, and painter who became one of the most innovative printmakers of the French Baroque period. Born in Abbeville to a family of coppersmiths, Mellan rose to become Peintre et Graveur Ordinaire du Roi (Painter and Engraver in Ordinary to the King), achieving recognition for his extraordinary technical mastery. Mellan's artistic significanc...