Theological Thesis of Antoine Talon
Medium
Etching; top four of six plates, second state of upper part and fourth state of dedication (BN)
Dimensions
sheet: 20 3/16 x 22 3/4 in. (51.2 x 57.8 cm) plate: 19 1/2 x 22 1/16 in. (49.5 x 56 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Accession Number
13.648.11
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created in 1648 by the masterful French etcher Claude Mellan, involvement from Cardinal Jules Mazar—a powerful patron of the arts and chief minister to Louis XIV—"Theological Thesis of Antoine Talon" a monumental etching comprising the top four of six plates. second state of the upper section and fourth state of the (per the Bibliothèque Nationale) showcases Mellan's virtuosic line work on a grand scale, with sheet dimensions of 20 3/16 x 22 3/4 inches. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, it captures a scholarly moment centered on Antoine Talon, a promine...
About the Artist
Claude Mellan|Cardinal Jules Mazarin · 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...