1653
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Pompone II de Bellievre is a 1653 ink by Robert Nanteuil, a Baroque work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This is a black-and-white portrait of a man with curly hair and a mustache. He’s wearing a fur collar that looks heavy and warm, draped over his shoulders. The background is completely dark, so all your focus stays on his face and clothes. The artist used lots of tiny lines to build up the shadows and textures—like the fur’s fluffy details or the folds in his shirt. It’s not painted; it’s carved into a metal plate, then printed. Next, check out how engraving works to see how artists create depth with just lines.
Robert Nanteuil (French pronunciation: ; 1623 – 9 December 1678) was a French portrait artist: engraver, draughtsman and pastellist to the court of Louis XIV.
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