Israel Silvestre

'Arch of Constantine' original engraving by Israel Silvestre

ca. 1650

French Baroque Era Engraver, Israël Silvestre, called the Younger to distinguish him from his father, was a prolific French draftsman, etcher and print dealer. He specialized in topographical views and perspectives of famous buildings. Orphaned at an early age, he was taken in by his uncle in Paris, Israël Henriet, an etcher and printseller and a friend of Jacques Callot. Between 1630 and 1650 Silvestre traveled widely in France and Italy and later worked up his sketches as etchings, which were sold single and in series. His work, especially of Venetian subjects published in the 1660s, influenced eighteenth-century painters such as Luca Carlevarijs and Canaletto, who adapted his compositions. In 1661, he inherited the stock of plates of his uncle, the printseller Israël Henriet, among which was a large part of the works of Jacques Callot and many of those of Stefano della Bella. In 1662, he was appointed dessinateur et graveur du Roi and in 1673, he was appointed drawing-master to Louis, Grand Dauphin. From 1668 he was granted workshop space in the galleries of the Louvre, where the practice of housing eminent artists and craftsmen was a tradition that originated under Henry IV. Silvestre's atelier was large, he had at least two pupils who had careers as engravers, François Noblesse and Meunier. In 1670, Charles Le Brun recommended him for membership in the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture. In 1675 his son, the artist Louis de Silvestre was born at Sceaux. He passed away on October 11, 1691, in Paris, France.