Pieter Van Schuppen

Petrus Mercier Generalis Totius Ordinis

Pieter Van Schuppen's original engraving, "Petrus Mercier Generalis Totius Ordinis" is printed upon fine, laid 17th century paper and with margins extending past the plate-mark on all sides. Petrus Mercier is portrayed half-length in an oval frame, the actual portrait is surrounded with the symbols of his important office. In all aspects it is a brilliantly conceived and executed portrait engraving and a fine, original example from the Golden Age of the engraved portrait and the art of Pieter Van Schuppen.

Petrus Mercier Generalis Totius Ordinis

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Title:	Petrus Mercier Generalis Totius Ordinis (Portrait of Petrus Mercier)
Engraver:	Van Schuppen, Pieter (Antwerp, 1623 - Paris, 1702)
Designer:	Le Maire, Francois
Date:	1677
Medium:	Original Line Engraving
Note:	In the second half of the seventeenth century the portrait engraving held the loftiest position of any art. Rendering the human likeness with the meticulous and complex use of engraved lines attracted the greatest masters of the era. Jonas Suyderhoeff, Antoine Masson, Claude Mellan and the influential Robert Nanteuil (1623 - 1678) became the most powerful artists of their day. When we look at their work and the portraits of other fine masters more than three hundred years later, we are still amazed by the technical virtuosity of their prints. This was the Golden Age of the engraved portrait and Paris was at the centre.
	Pieter van Schuppen began his well documented career in his native city of Antwerp. It is known, however, that by 1655, he was residing in Paris and had become the favoured pupil of Nanteuil. His use of ornamental design, his dexterity with the engraved line and, lastly, his ability to capture even the most subtle features of the face, have led most critics to compare Pieter van Schuppen's art to that of his master. In fact, during his life he was generally known as 'le petit Nanteuil'. This is indeed high praise, as Nanteuil ranks as the most renowned of all portrait engravers.
	Pieter van Schuppen left a life's work of 119 known engravings, almost all portraits. He engraved such famous individuals of his day as Cardinal d' Este, Mazarin and King Louis XIV of France. Petrus Mercier represents one of Van Schuppen's largest and finest works of art. Portrayed half-length in an oval frame, the actual portrait is surrounded with the symbols of his important office. In all aspects it is a brilliantly conceived and executed portrait engraving.
Raisonne:	G. K. Nagler, Neues allgemeines Kunstler-Lexicon, Schwarzenberg & Schumann, Leipzig (3rd. edition), Vol. 18, pp. 62-67.
	Catalogue # 32, First and Only State.
	D. De Hoop Scheffer, Hollstein's Dutch and Fleish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, Circa 1450 to 1700, Van Gendt & Co., Amsterdam, 1982, Vol. XXVI, pp. 67 - 110.
	Hollstein Catalogue # 101. Second State of Two, with the name of Le Maire. Impressions of this engraving are in the collection of the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris and the Bibliotheque Royale, Brussels.
Size:	13 3/4 X 10 3/4 (Sizes in inches are approximate, height preceding width of plate-mark or image.)
	Matted with 100% Archival Materials
Buy Now	Price: $465.00 US
Condition:	Printed on fine, laid 17th century paper and with margins extending past the plate-mark on all sides. Contains slight rubbing on the extreme, upper left corner, else in superb condition throughout. A strong, silvery printing, which is indicative of a very early printing. Altogether, Petrus Mercier is a spectacular and original example from the Golden Age of the engraved portrait and the art of Pieter Van Schuppen.
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