It is indeed high time that the artist who has been called “the Louis XIV of engraving” came into his own again, or that he at least be accorded some of the immense popularity which he enjoyed during the palmy days of the grand siècle. For two centuries he has lain in an obscurity which it is not easy to understand, in spite of the fact that his style of portraiture went out of fashion long before the great monarch died. It remained extremely unpopular throughout the eighteenth century, for what could those austere bust portraits against a plain dark background, in the simplest of settings, have in common with the decorative compositions of the days of Louis XV, in which velvet and embroideries, ermine and rich lace, inlaid armor, canopies and complicated furniture, played such an important part? In comparison with these decorative panels they seem cold and uninteresting, but on the other hand they alone represent real portraiture; they reflect the earnestness of Port-Royal.
Nanteuil. Jules, Cardinal Mazarin
Engraved in 1656 from Nanteuil’s own drawing from life
This is one of the most interesting of the many portraits of the great
minister engraved by Nanteuil.
Size of the original engraving, 13½ × 10½ inches
Nanteuil. Bernard de Foix de la Valette, Duc d’Epernon
Engraved in 1650 from Nanteuil’s own drawing from life
“This man was the son of the Duc d’Epernon, who was seated in the carriage with Henry IV at the time when the king was assassinated. The Duc was suspected of complicity in the plot, but this never was proved. Both the elder and the younger Espernon were extremely haughty and arrogant men. Their possessions in Guienne were of an almost royal character and they governed them practically independent of the royal authority. Both were associated with the reactionary party.”
J. B. Perkins, France under Richelieu and Mazarin.