Morin. Nicolas Chrystin
Son of the Plenipotentiary of King Philip IV of Spain to the
Peace of Vervins
After the painting by Anthony Van Dyck
Size of the original engraving, 11½ x 9¼ inches
Morin. Antoine Vitré
Printer to the King and the Clergy
After the painting by Philippe de Champaigne
Size of the original engraving, 12¼ x 8⅜ inches
Quite a different portrait is that of his nephew, Vignerod, shown here in three-quarter figure as the Abbé de Richelieu, a most attractive plate, and one of the only two portraits of Morin’s in which the model is shown otherwise than in the usual bust form. The other one is that of Vitré, a famous printer of the time; it is one of the lowest-toned engraved portraits extant, and in its velvety blackness it is a most striking production. A fine impression of it will turn one’s thoughts to Rembrandt and show the full extent of Morin’s originality.
The list contains many famous personages: Mazarin; Michel Le Tellier; Charles de Valois, duc d’Angoulême, son of Charles IX and the beautiful Marie Touchet; the Maréchal d’Harcourt, the “Cadet à la perle” of the more famous portrait by Masson and the valorous head of the armies of Louis XIII; the charming Comtesse de Bossu and her secretly married second husband the Duc de Guise; the Maréchal de Villeroy, preceptor of Louis XIV; Potier de Gesvres, also a warrior; and the Chancellor Marillac, whose brother was executed by Richelieu and who himself became the cardinal’s victim, though in a less tragic way. All these plates are an admirable interpretation of their models, and show an absolute lack of mannerism. With their brilliant contrasts of light and shade and the uncommon amount of texture due to the freedom of the line-work and the rich color of the ink employed, they have a richness of tone and a decorative effect shared by few of the portraits made later in the century. Some of them are engraved in a rather high key and show a simply modeled head against a light background, as in the case of Brachet de la Milletière, the savant who was first an intolerant Calvinist and then became a militant Roman Catholic. In other portraits like that of Maugis, the maître-d’hôtel of the king, the artist seems to have reveled in the deepest tones of his inky palette, and he renders the olive skin and the raven hair of this strong-featured individual with a most striking intensity.