Gilles Rousselet, also known as Aegidius Rousselet (1610–1686) was a French burin engraver, print dealer, and

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman, drafting technician, or CAD technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawi ...

, active during the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

-era. He was one of the most skilled engravers of the seventeenth century and a member of the Académie.

About

Gilles Rousselet, born in 1610 in Paris, France. His father was a bookseller and possibly a printmaker. It is unknown with whom he studied engraving under, but his work was inspired by

Abraham Bloemaert Abraham Bloemaert (25 December 1566 – 27 January 1651) was a Dutch painter and printmaker who used etching and engraving. He initially worked in the style of the " Haarlem Mannerists", but by the beginning of the 17th-century altered his style ...

. Gilles Rousselet married in 1645 to Judith Le Goux in the Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs church, and together they had fourteen children. He was the father of sculptor, Jean Rousselet (1656–1693). A lot of Rousselet's engraving work was a reproduction of works by other artists. During his career he reproduced work by artists, including Grégoire Huret,

Claude Vignon Claude Vignon (19 May 1593 – 10 May 1670) was a French people, French painter, printmaker and illustrator who worked in a wide range of genres.Paola Pacht Bassani. "Vignon, Claude." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press ...

Jacques Stella Jacques Stella (1596 – 29 April 1657) was a French painter, a leading exponent of the neoclassical style of Parisian Atticism. Life Stella was born in Lyon. His father was François Stella, a painter and merchant of Flemish origin, but h ...

Laurent de La Hyre Laurent de La Hyre (; 27 February 1606 – 28 December 1656) was a French Baroque painting, Baroque Painting, painter, born in Paris. He was a leading exponent of the neoclassical style of Parisian Atticism. Life La Hyre was greatly influence ...

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

Pietro da Cortona Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian Baroque painter, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious works, but al ...

Valentin de Boulogne Valentin de Boulogne (before 3 January 1591 – 19 August 1632), sometimes referred to as Le Valentin, was a French painter in the tenebrist style. Origins Valentin was born in Coulommiers, France, where he was baptised in the parish of Sai ...

Nicolas Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was a French painter who was a leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythologic ...

, and his friend

Charles Le Brun Charles Le Brun (; baptised 24 February 1619 – 12 February 1690) was a French Painting, painter, Physiognomy, physiognomist, Aesthetics, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. He served as a court painter to Louis XIV, ...

. Unlike Rousselet, many of the known engravers of the 17th century created their own original artworks and were held at higher esteem, such as

Jacques Callot Jacques Callot (; – 1635) was a baroque printmaker and drawing, draftsman from the Duchy of Lorraine. He is an important person in the development of the old master print. He made more than 1,400 etchings that chronicled the life of his peri ...

Claude Mellan Claude Mellan (23 May 1598 – 9 September 1688) was a French draughtsman, engraver, and painter. Early life and training Mellan was born in Abbeville, the son of a customs official. His first known print (Préaud no. 288), made for a thesi ...

Robert Nanteuil Robert Nanteuil (; 1623 – 9 December 1678) was a French portrait artist: engraver, draughtsman and pastellist to the court of Louis XIV. Life He was born in Reims in 1623,Israel Silvestre Israel Silvestre (13 August 1621 in Nancy – 11 October 1691 in Paris), called the Younger to distinguish him from his father, was a prolific French draftsman, etcher and print dealer who specialized in topographical views and perspectives ...

. The

Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture The Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture (; ) was founded in 1648 in Paris, France. It was the premier art institution of France during the latter part of the Ancien Régime until it was abolished in 1793 during the French Revolution. I ...

had always considered printmakers and engravers inferior to painters, and starting in 1663, the first engravers were admitted, starting in April with

François Chauveau François Chauveau (; 10 May 1613 – 3 February 1676) was a French artist, known as a burin engraver, draftsmen and painter. Biography François Chauveau was born 10 May 1613 in Paris, as the second son of the impoverished noble, Lubin Cha ...

. On 7 August 1663 Rousselet was the second engraver to enter the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture. Charles LeBrun had supported Rousselet's entrance to the Académie. He exhibited his works at the Salons exhibition of 1664 and of 1673.

Death and legacy

In 1678, Rousselet went blind and was no longer able to work. He died on 15 July 1686 in Paris, France, and was buried eleven days later. On July 22, 1686, an inventory was made of his belongings, which included all of his prints and engraving plates. He was related to engraver

Marie-Anne Rousselet Marie-Anne Rousselet, also known as Marie-Anne Tardieu, Veuve Tardieu (Widow Tardieu), (1732–1826) was a French engraver and illustrator. About Marie-Anne Rousselet was born in Paris, France on 6 December 1732 to medal engraver Alexis Éti ...

Collections

His work is included in the public museum collections at

Harvard Art Museums The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...

, the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF), comprising the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, is the largest public arts institution in the city of San Francisco. FAMSF's combined attendance was 1,1 ...

, the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

, London,

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the S ...

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

, the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...

Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the List of largest art museums, largest ar ...

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland () houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street, Dublin, Clare Street. It ...

, among others.

References

External links

* {{ACArt 1610 births 1686 deaths 17th-century French engravers Engravers from Paris French art dealers Baroque draughtsmen Baroque engravers Members of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture