Antoine Turgot de Saint-Clair 1668

Antoine Masson created this print of Antoine Turgot de Saint-Clair, using engraving, a process of incising lines into a metal plate, which holds ink and transfers the image to paper. The portrait is framed within an oval, itself surrounded by ornate decorations. This compositional choice brings into question the interplay between the subject and the frame, blurring the lines between the individual and their societal role. Masson's use of line is particularly striking. Notice the dense, almost textural quality of the lines that describe Turgot’s voluminous wig, which contrasts with the smoother, more delicate rendering of his face. This contrast creates a visual hierarchy, drawing our attention to the subject's gaze. The print challenges fixed meanings by presenting a man both as an individual and as a symbol of status. The detailed rendering of his features humanizes him, while the elaborate frame and heraldic symbols project an image of authority and lineage. This tension between the individual and the symbolic is characteristic of much Baroque portraiture.