Robert Nanteuil (c. 1623-1678)
Portrait of Godefroi-Maurice de La Tour d’Auvergne (1641-1721)
1657, engraving on paper, first state of seven
15 x 11 5/16 in. (38.1 x 28.7 cm) (image size)
Gift of Mrs. Frederick Paul Keppel (C00.0802.030)

Nanteuil rarely made engravings of children and adolescents. As such, this portrait of the 16-year old Godefroi-Maurice, member of the eminent La Tour d’Auvergne family and Third Duke of Bouillon, is exceptional. Nanteuil employed different strategies to convey the Duke’s young age, including the absence of facial hair, taut skin and an eluding gaze – perhaps a deferential gesture of youth. The textural contrasts between the hair, metal, satin and lace demonstrate Nanteuil’s brilliant use of light and shadow to suggest the three-dimensionality of different materials, in a media as constraining as engraving. This print was conserved for the exhibition by Columbia University Libraries Conservation Program.