Nicolas Dorigny
Encyclopedia
Sir Nicolas Dorigny, a French engraver
, was the youngest son of Michel Dorigny
, and was born in Paris in 1658. He was brought up to the bar
, and followed that profession until he was thirty years of age, when, in consequence of deafness, he turned his thoughts to the arts, and visited Italy, where he remained twenty-eight years. His first plates were executed with the point
; and if we were to judge of his talent by his early prints, his reputation would be very short of that which he acquired by a union of the point and the graver
in his later productions. He took for his model the admirable works of Gérard Audran
; and although he by no means equalled that celebrated artist, either in the style of his drawing, or in the picturesque effect of his light and shade, his prints will always be esteemed both for their merit as engravings and for the importance of the subjects of which he made choice. In 1711 he was invited to England by Queen Anne to engrave the Cartoons of Raphael
at Hampton Court
, which he finished in 1719, and in the following year he was knighted by King George I
. While he was in England he painted some portraits of the nobility, but with no great success. He returned to France in 1725, and was received into the Academy
in the same year. He exhibited some pictures of sacred subjects at the Salon from 1739 to 1743, and died in Paris in 1746.
The following are his principal prints:
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
, was the youngest son of Michel Dorigny
Michel Dorigny
Michel Dorigny , was a French painter and engraver.-Biography:According to the RKD he was a pupil of Georges Lallemand and Simon Vouet. He trained at the Académie de peinture et de sculpture and became the teacher and father to the painters Nicolas and Louis Dorigny...
, and was born in Paris in 1658. He was brought up to the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
, and followed that profession until he was thirty years of age, when, in consequence of deafness, he turned his thoughts to the arts, and visited Italy, where he remained twenty-eight years. His first plates were executed with the point
Drypoint
Drypoint is a printmaking technique of the intaglio family, in which an image is incised into a plate with a hard-pointed "needle" of sharp metal or diamond point. Traditionally the plate was copper, but now acetate, zinc, or plexiglas are also commonly used...
; and if we were to judge of his talent by his early prints, his reputation would be very short of that which he acquired by a union of the point and the graver
Burin
Burin from the French burin meaning "cold chisel" has two specialised meanings for types of tools in English, one meaning a steel cutting tool which is the essential tool of engraving, and the other, in archaeology, meaning a special type of lithic flake with a chisel-like edge which was probably...
in his later productions. He took for his model the admirable works of Gérard Audran
Gérard Audran
Gérard Audran , was a French engraver of the Audran family, the third son of Claude Audran....
; and although he by no means equalled that celebrated artist, either in the style of his drawing, or in the picturesque effect of his light and shade, his prints will always be esteemed both for their merit as engravings and for the importance of the subjects of which he made choice. In 1711 he was invited to England by Queen Anne to engrave the Cartoons of Raphael
Raphael Cartoons
The Raphael Cartoons are seven large cartoons for tapestries, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, painted by the High Renaissance painter Raphael in 1515-16 and showing scenes from the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles...
at Hampton Court
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London; it has not been inhabited by the British royal family since the 18th century. The palace is located south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames...
, which he finished in 1719, and in the following year he was knighted by King George I
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
. While he was in England he painted some portraits of the nobility, but with no great success. He returned to France in 1725, and was received into the Academy
Académie de peinture et de sculpture
The Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture , Paris, was founded in 1648, modelled on Italian examples, such as the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. Paris already had the Académie de Saint-Luc, which was a city artist guild like any other Guild of Saint Luke...
in the same year. He exhibited some pictures of sacred subjects at the Salon from 1739 to 1743, and died in Paris in 1746.
The following are his principal prints:
- Nine plates of the Seven Planets, and the Creation of the Sun and Moon ; after the paintings by RaphaelRaphaelRaffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
in the Chigi ChapelChigi ChapelThe Chigi Chapel is one of six chapels in the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, Piazza del Popolo, Rome. The Chigi chapel, the second on the left-hand side of the nave, was designed by Raphael as a private chapel for his friend and patron Sienese banker Agostino Chigi, then completed by Gian...
in La Madonna del PopoloSanta Maria del PopoloSanta Maria del Popolo is an Augustinian church located in Rome, Italy.It stands to the north side of the Piazza del Popolo, one of the most famous squares in the city. The Piazza is situated between the ancient Porta Flaminia and the park of the Pincio...
. - The Cartoons at Hampton Court; after the same; eight plates, including the title.
- The Transfiguration; after the same.
- The History of Cupid and Psyche, and the Triumph of Galatea, twelve plates, including the title; after the paintings from the designs of Maphael, in the Farnesina.
- The Descent from the Cross; after Danielle da VolterraDaniele da VolterraDaniele Ricciarelli , better known as Daniele da Volterra, was an Italian mannerist painter and sculptor.He is best remembered for his association, for better or worse, with the late Michelangelo. Several of Daniele's most important works were based on designs made for that purpose by Michelangelo...
. - St. Peter and St. John healing the Lame Man at the Gate of the Temple; after L. CigoliCigoliLodovico Cardi , also known as Cigoli, was an Italian painter and architect of the late Mannerist and early Baroque period, trained and active in his early career in Florence, and spending the last nine years of his life in Rome.Lodovico Cardi was born at Villa Castelvecchio di Cigoli, in Tuscany,...
. - The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian; after Domenichino.
- The Martyrdom of St. Petronilla; after Guercino.
- St. Francis kneeling before the Virgin and Child; after A. CarracciAnnibale CarracciAnnibale Carracci was an Italian Baroque painter.-Early career:Annibale Carracci was born in Bologna, and in all likelihood first apprenticed within his family...
. - St. Catharine in Meditation; after Carlo CignaniCarlo CignaniCarlo Cignani was an Italian painter of the Bolognese and of the Forlivese school, active in the Baroque period....
. - St. Peter walking on the Sea; after LanfrancoGiovanni LanfrancoGiovanni Lanfranco was an Italian painter of the Baroque period.-Biography:Giovanni Gaspare Lanfranco was born in Parma, the third son of Stefano and Cornelia Lanfranchi, and was placed as a page in the household of Count Orazio Scotti...
. - The Virgin and Child, with St. Charles Borromeo and St. Liborius; after B. LamhertiBonaventura LambertiBonaventura Lamberti was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome. He was born at Carpi,and after some years working at Modena, he became a pupil of the painter Carlo Cignani in Rome. There he painted St. Francis of Paola resuscitating a dead Child for the church of the...
. - The Trinity; after Guido ReniGuido ReniGuido Reni was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style.-Biography:Born in Bologna into a family of musicians, Guido Reni was the son of Daniele Reni and Ginevra de’ Pozzi. As a child of nine, he was apprenticed under the Bolognese studio of Denis Calvaert. Soon after, he was joined in that...
. - The Birth of the Virgin; after Carlo MarattiCarlo MarattaCarlo Maratta or Maratti was an Italian painter, active mostly in Rome, and known principally for his classicizing paintings executed in a Late Baroque Classical manner. Although he is part of the classical tradition stemming from Raphael, he was not exempt from the influence of Baroque painting...
. - The Adoration of the Magi; after the same.
- The Virgin and Child, with St. Charles Borromeo and St. Ignatius; after the same.
- Eight plates of the paintings in the Cupola of St. AgnesSant'Agnese in AgoneSant'Agnese in Agone is a seventeenth century Baroque church in Rome, Italy. It faces onto the Piazza Navona, one of the main urban spaces in the historic centre of the city and the site where the Early Christian Saint Agnes was martyred in the ancient Stadium of Domitian.The rebuilding of the...
; after Ciro FerriCiro FerriCiro Ferri was an Italian Baroque sculptor and painter, the chief pupil and successor of Pietro da Cortona.He was born in Rome, where he began working under Cortona and with a team of artists in the extensive fresco decorations of the Quirinal Palace...
.