Vincent Voiture
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 × 5 13/16 in. (20.3 × 14.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Louise Bechtel, 1958
Accession Number
58.580.14
Tags
Art Historical Context
This elegant engraving, titled *Vincent Voiture*, captures the likeness of the celebrated French poet (1597–1648) just after his death. Created in 1649 by virtuoso engraver Robert Nante after a painting by Philippe de Champaigne—one the era's leading portraitists—it exemplifies the refined portraiture of Louis XIV's early reign. Measuring 8 × 5 13/16 inches (20.3 × 14.8 cm), the showcases Nanteuil's meticulous, where incised lines on a metal plate produce rich tonal contrasts and lifelike detail, making elite likenesses accessible beyond paintings. Voiture was a luminary of Parisian literary ...
About the Artist
Robert Nanteuil|Philippe de Champaigne · 1623–1678
Robert Nanteuil (1623-1678) was a French portrait engraver, draughtsman, and pastellist who became the preeminent portraitist to the court of Louis XIV. His technical mastery and royal patronage fundamentally transformed the status of engraving in France, elevating it from a mechanical craft to a recognized fine art. Nanteuil stands as the outstanding French portrait engraver of the seventeenth c...