Robert Nanteuil (; 1623 – 9 December 1678) was a French

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this ...

artist: engraver, draughtsman and pastellist to the court of

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

Life

He was born in Reims in 1623,Notice de personne: "Nanteuil, Robert (1623-1678)"
BnF; Benezit 2006; Pinkerton 1996. the son of Lancelot Nanteuil, a wool merchant of

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded b ...

.Pinkerton 1996. He studied philosophy in his native Reims but was already an engraver by the time he defended his thesis in 1645. He studied engraving under his brother-in-law, Nicolas Regnesson, whose sister he married in 1646.Benezit 2006. In 1647 he moved to Paris. His style of drawing was influenced by the painter

Philippe de Champaigne Philippe de Champaigne (; 26 May 1602 – 12 August 1674) was a Brabançon-born French Baroque era painter, a major exponent of the French school. He was a founding member of the Académie de peinture et de sculpture in Paris, the premier art ...

, and his engraving, by

Claude Mellan Claude Mellan (23 May 1598 – 9 September 1688) was a French draughtsman, engraver, and painter.Brejon de Lavergnée 1996. Early life and training Mellan was born in Abbeville, the son of a customs official.Strutt 1746. His first known pr ...

and Jean Morin. Around 1650 he became a collaborator and friend of the master engraver

Abraham Bosse Abraham Bosse ( – 14 February 1676) was a French artist, mainly as a printmaker in etching, but also in watercolour.Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; eu, Donibane Lohitzune,Donibane Lohitzune
Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

, Queen

Christina of Sweden Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December ( New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus upon his death ...

and many other high-ranking aristocrats and personages of note. Among the finest works of his fully developed period may be named the portraits of

Pompone de Bellièvre Pompone de Bellièvre (1606–1657) was a French magistrate, ambassador and statesman, ending his career as first president of the Parliament of Paris, from 1653 to 1657. Life Bellièvre was the son, nephew, and grandson of eminent men. ...

Gilles Ménage Gilles Ménage (; 15 August 1613 – 23 July 1692) was a French scholar. Biography He was born at Angers, the son of Guillaume Ménage, king's advocate at Angers. A good memory and enthusiasm for learning carried him quickly through his lite ...

, Jean Loret, the Duc de La Meilleraye and the Duchesse de Nemours. He died at Paris on 9 December 1678. Pomponne de Bellievre first president of the Parliament of Paris by Robert Nanteuil

Pomponne de Bellievre first president of the Parliament of Paris by Robert Nanteuil

His pupils included

Pieter van Schuppen Pieter van Schuppen, known in France also as Pierre Louis van Schuppen (Antwerp, 5 September 1627 – Paris, 7 March 1702) was a Flemish painter and engraver who was mainly active in France, where he enjoyed a reputation for his portrait prints.

and Domenico Tempesti.Robert Nanteuil
at the

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

Work

The plates of Nanteuil, several of them approaching the scale of life, number about three hundred. He drew 155 of his 221 portraits from life. In his early practice he imitated the technique of his predecessors, working with straight lines, strengthened, but not crossed, in the shadows, in the style of Claude Mellan, and in other prints cross-hatching like Regnesson, or stippling in the manner of Jean Boulanger; but he gradually asserted his full individuality, modeling the faces of his portraits with the utmost precision and completeness, and employing various methods of touch for the draperies and other parts of his plates.

References

Bibliography

* Adamczak, Audrey (2011). ''Robert Nanteuil, ca.1623-1678'' 'catalogue raisonné'' of Nanteuil's works: pastels, drawings & prints Paris: Arthena Editions. . * Benezit (2006)
"Nanteuil, Robert"
vol. 10, p. 151, in ''

Benezit Dictionary of Artists The ''Benezit Dictionary of Artists'' (in French, ''Bénézit: Dictionnaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs'') is an extensive publication of bibliographical information on painters, sculptors, designers and engravers create ...

''. Paris: Gründ. . * * Pinkerton, J. M. (1996)
"Nanteuil, Robert"
vol. 22, pp. 465–466, in ''

The Dictionary of Art ''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press ...

'', 34 volumes, edited by Jane Turner. New York: Grove. .

External links

*
Robert Nanteuil exhibition catalogs
* Princeton University
Robert Nanteuil Collection
* Robert Nanteuil engravings paper finding aid

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nanteuil, Robert 1623 births 1678 deaths 17th-century French engravers French printmakers Artists from Reims