The Noble Painter
1642
Medium
Engraving, with etching, on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image, with text/plate: 25.2 × 32.3 cm (9 15/16 × 12 3/4 in.); Sheet: 27.1 × 34 cm (10 11/16 × 13 7/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
200157
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Abraham Bosse’s etchings of everyday life in France exude a subtle opulence. His bourgeois characters deck their walls with paintings and prints. Here even Louis XIII condescends to have his portrait painted by a well-heeled artist. Bosse drew a parallel between this depiction and the portrayal of Alexander the Great’s mistress by the ancient artist Apelles, who is depicted above the painter. According to legend, the resulting work was so exquisite that Alexander gave his mistress to Apelles, wh...
About the Artist
Abraham Bosse · 1602–1676
Abraham Bosse (1604–1676) was a French printmaker and theorist whose approximately 1,600 etchings provide an unparalleled visual record of 17th-century French life. Born to Huguenot parents in Tours, he trained in Paris under Melchior Tavernier and became a devoted follower of Jacques Callot's technical innovations. Bosse's meticulous etchings depicted subjects ranging from daily life and fashion ...