Portret van Nicolas Coeffeteau

About this artwork

Prent gebruikt voor: Coeffeteau, Nicolas. Histoire Romaine. Parijs: Sébastien Cramoisy, 1623, tweede editie. Prent ook gebruikt voor: Coeffeteau, Nicolas. Pro Sacra monarchia. Parijs: Sébastien Cramoisy, 1623.

Art Historical Context

Claude Mellan's *Portret van Nicolas Coeffeteau* (1623) is a striking engraving capturing the likeness of the French bishop, preacher, and scholar Nicolas Coeffeteau. Measuring 290mm by 204mm, this intimate portrait exemplifies the precision of 17th-century French engraving, a technique where intricate lines are incised into a copper plate, inked, and pressed onto paper. Mellan, an innovative Baroque engraver, was renowned for his masterful line work, which brought depth and character to printed images at a time when books were primary vehicles for visual dissemination. Created in Paris amid ...

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...