Portret van Francesco Primaticcio 1682

Edme de Boulonois made this print of Francesco Primaticcio using etching and engraving. The image celebrates the life of the Italian artist, architect, and sculptor, who spent much of his career working for the French court at Fontainebleau. Primaticcio was ennobled as an Abbot of Saint-Martin de Troarn, and this portrait conveys that sense of status and authority. Look at the figure’s confident gaze and the sumptuous fur trim of his robes, the image projects an aura of power which is reinforced by the crisp precision of the engraving. Prints like this one served to consolidate artistic reputations and distribute them amongst a wide audience of collectors and connoisseurs. We can learn a lot about the ways in which art was regarded in this period by looking at the kind of images that were mass produced. Early examples of art-historical writing and collection inventories can reveal how this and other artworks acquired meaning in their own time.