Artwork
François de Valois
François de Valois is an ink print by the Baroque artist Balthasar Moncornet. It dates from 1634 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
François de Valois is an engraved portrait executed by the French artist Balthasar Moncornet in 1634. The image appears on laid paper and presents a solitary figure in elaborate dress, accompanied by a modest landscape scene that suggests a hunting or military setting.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure is a man wearing a high, ornamented hat and a ruffled collar, his expression solemn. An inscription in French identifies him as a prince, indicating his high social rank and possibly commemorating his status within the French nobility.
Technique & Style
Moncornet employed the traditional intaglio engraving method, incising fine lines into a copper plate to achieve the delicate rendering of facial features, textiles, and the distant background. The contrast between the sharply defined portrait and the softer, more atmospheric landscape reflects the 17th‑century French print aesthetic.
History & Provenance
Created during Moncornet’s active period as a painter and engraver, the work exemplifies his focus on portraiture of notable contemporaries. The print bears the artist’s signature, B. Moncornet, at the lower margin, confirming its authorship and dating to the early 1630s.
Context
In the early modern French court, engraved portraits served both as personal commemorations and as disseminated images of power. This portrait aligns with that practice, presenting a princely figure within a visual narrative that alludes to martial or hunting pursuits, activities associated with aristocratic identity.
Artist & collection
Artist
Balthasar Moncornet (1600, Rouen – 1668, Paris) was a French painter, engraver, and tapissier revered for his depictions of around 45 different prominent figures of the 17th century.
