Sebastien Le Clerc

Sebastien Le Clerc

Sébastien Leclerc or Sébastien Le Clerc ( 26 September 1637— 25 October 1714) was a French artist from the Duchy of Lorraine. He specialized in subtle reproductive drawings, etchings, and engravings of paintings; and worked mostly in Paris, where he was counseled by the King's painter, Charles Le Brun, to devote himself entirely to engraving. Leclerc joined the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in 1672 and taught perspective there. He worked for Louis XIV, being made "graveur du Roi" (attached to the Cabinet du Roi), doing engraving work for the royal house. Leclerc also engaged in periodic work as a technical draftsman and military engineer.

Of his reproductive engravings, the connoisseur and chronicler of artistic life, Pierre-Jean Mariette, wrote in his Abecedario:

"If there has ever been an engraver who rendered himself celebrated in his profession, and who extended his capabilities beyond ordinary bounds, that is, without fear of contradiction: Sébastien Le Clerc".