Sébastien de Pontault, Seigneur de Beaulieu - Gérard Edelinck

A formal seventeenth-century engraving by Gérard Edelinck, depicting the military engineer Sébastien de Pontault in polished armour.

This engraving by Gérard Edelinck depicts Sébastien de Pontault, Seigneur de Beaulieu, a notable military engineer and cartographer of the seventeenth century. Edelinck, a Flemish engraver who spent much of his career in Paris under the patronage of Louis XIV, earned a reputation for his technical precision and his ability to render textures through the copperplate medium.

The portrait is presented within a classic oval frame, a common convention for formal portraiture of the period. The subject is shown in three-quarter profile, wearing polished plate armour that reflects the light with metallic clarity. His expression is composed, and his long, flowing hair follows the fashion of the French court during the reign of the Sun King. Below the oval, a coat of arms is integrated into the composition, providing heraldic context for the sitter.

Edelinck employs a sophisticated system of cross-hatching and varying line weights to create volume and depth. The contrast between the dark background and the illuminated armour demonstrates his mastery of the burin. The lower section of the print features a cartouche containing the sitter's name and title, executed in a clean, formal script. This work is a representative example of the high-quality portrait prints produced in France during the late seventeenth century, intended for both private collections and public dissemination of the likenesses of prominent figures. The print captures the formal dignity associated with the military aristocracy of the era, while simultaneously demonstrating the technical rigour that defined Edelinck's output.