17th Century Engraving Portrait Of Claude Housset, Marquis De Trichâteau Dated 1681.

Portrait of Claude de Housset, Marquis de Trichâteau.
 Depicted in three-quarter view with  wig, lace collar in a medallion.
    Engraved by Antoine Masson and dated 1681.

 Inscription in Latin around the portrait: CLAVDIUS DV HOVSSET MARCHIO DE TRICHAS[...] AV REGIS VNICI FRATR IS CANCELLARIUS. 

 Signed, dated: Ant.  Mason.  ad.  Viuum.  Pingebat and sculpebat.  Cum P.R. 1681. 

 Dimensions:
 With frame 62 x 53 cm.
 At sight 52 x 43.5 cm.
 Some foxing.

                           Antoine Masson:
 He began engraving in 1662, with François de Poilly, engraver and publisher of prints in Paris.  He meets the painter Mignard who advises him to study drawing and painting.  “Ordinary engraver to the king”, he was admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture on February 15, 1679.

 He is the author of numerous portraits (Louis XIV, Le Nôtre, Henri de Lorraine-Harcourt, known as Cadet with a Pearl, etc.).  He left some works of a religious nature such as The Disciples of Emmaüs, the most famous engraving also called The Tablecloth because of the finesse of the embroidered linen covering the table.  A specialist in portrait engraving, he achieved a reputation comparable to that of their most recognized painter contemporaries.