French portrait engraving of the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries

By Thomas Head Thomas

Book Overview

Before photography reputation travelled on paper. Faces return from the past. In French portrait engraving of the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries, T.H. Thomas traces the makers of fame: the engravers, publishers, and celebrated sitters whose likenesses circulated through seventeenth century France and the salons of eighteenth century French art. From court to coffee-house, these images taught Europe how to look at power, intellect, and beauty. Part printmaking history monograph and part illustrated engraving catalog, this art history reference book brings together key names, schools, and stylistic shifts from baroque rococo portraiture. Thomas attends to old master printmaking in the workshop sense: copperplate portrait prints, line, stipple, and the subtle choices that turn a drawing into a compelling presence. For readers new to antique impressions, it doubles as an antique print collecting guide, clarifying attribution, states, and the visual vocabulary that separates an original from a later echo. For specialists, it stands as a print collectors reference guide and art students research guide, a steady companion when studying french portrait engravings and their place in European visual culture. Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today -- a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike. Whether you browse for the sheer pleasure of faces and fashions, or build a serious shelf of printmaking history and French art, Thomas offers a lucid, enduring map of the engraved portrait's golden age. Ideal beside a folio shelf.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9353706920
• ISBN13: 9789353706920
• Release Date: June 2019
• Publisher: Alpha Edition
• Length: 386 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.5"