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| Robert Nanteuil (1623–1678) | ||||||||||
| A celebrated French engraver, pastelist, painter, draughtsman, and poet, Robert Nanteuil was born in Rheims in 1623. The son of a merchant, he received a classical education, but his interest and natural talent for design led him to art. He first learned engraving from his brother-in-law Nicolas Regnesson, whose sister he married in 1647, and later moved to Paris to continue his training with Abraham Boke and Philippe de Champaigne. Known for his portraits in crayons, he soon attracted the attention of Louis XIV, who commissioned his likeness and appointed him designer and engraver to the Royal Cabinet, granting him a pension and confirming his position at court. Early in his career he worked in the manner of Claude Mellan, but around 1650 he began shaping a personal style that gave engraving greater clarity and refinement, lifting the medium to a new level. His portraits, admired for their detail and vitality, are regarded among the finest of their kind. Though his career was cut short by his death in Paris, he left around 300 plates of exceptional quality. | ||||||||||
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Art