Philippe de Mornay (Du Plessis-Mornay)
1611
Medium
engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 27.1 × 19.2 cm (10 11/16 × 7 9/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1950.14.925
Art Historical Context
In the National Gallery of Art's Rosenwald Collection, Léonard Gaultier's 1611 engraving *Philippe de MornayDu Plessis-Mornay)* captures the likeness of one of France's most influential Huguenot leaders. 27.1 × 19.2 cm, this intimate portrait exemplifies the era's fascination with disseminating powerful figures' images through print. Gaultier, a prolific French engraver active in the late 16th early 17th centuries, rendered Mornay—known as the "Pope of the Huguenots"—with fine lines that convey dignity and resolve, reflecting the turbulent religious landscape of post-Wars of Religion France. ...
About the Artist
Léonard Gaultier · 1561–1641
Léonard Gaultier, a prolific French engraver born in Mainz around 1561, established himself as a prominent printmaker and publisher in Paris, where he died in 1641. Operating from addresses like "A l'Arche de Noé" on rue du Monceau-Saint-Gervais by 1585, he produced book illustrations, frontispieces, title pages, broadsides, almanacs, and standalone prints, often collaborating with publishers such...