Portret van Giulio Raimondo Mazarino

About this artwork

Portret van Giulio Raimondo Mazarino, kardinaal en Frans staatsman. Onderaan in de marge zijn titels in het Italiaans. Linksboven genummerd: 49.

Art Historical Context

This engraving by Cornelis Meyssens captures Giulio Raimondo Mazarino, better known as Cardinal Mazarin, the influential Italian-born statesman who guided French politics during the early reign of Louis XIV. Created in 1670, nine years after the cardinal’s death, the portrait likely draws from earlier likenesses to commemorate his enduring legacy as a key architect of French diplomacy and cultural patronage. The print’s modest dimensions of 237 by 158 millimeters made it ideal for inclusion in books or personal collections. As an engraving, the work exemplifies the 17th-century technique of incising fine lines into a metal plate to produce detailed, reproducible images. This medium allowed portraits of prominent figures like Mazarin to circulate widely across Europe, reinforcing their status even after their lifetimes. The Italian titles inscribed in the lower margin and the number “49” in the upper corner suggest the piece belonged to a larger series of notable personalities, highlighting the era’s growing interest in printed collections of illustrious lives.