'Israel Silvestre' (
Nancy 13 August 1621 —
Paris 11 October 1691), called 'the Younger' to distinguish him from his father, was a prolific French draftsman,
etcher and print dealer who specialized in topographical views and perspectives of famous buildings. Orphaned at an early age, he was taken in by his uncle in
Paris, Israel Henriet, an etcher and printseller, and friend of Callot. Between 1630 and 1650 Silvestre travelled widely in France and Italy, which he visited three times, and later worked up his sketches as etchings, which were sold singly and in series. His work, especially of Venetian subjects published in the 1660s, influenced eighteenth-century painters of ''
vedute'' such as
Luca Carlevaris and
Canaletto, who adapted his compositions.
In 1661 he inherited the stock of plates of his uncle, the printseller Israel 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, ''le 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 was originated under
Henri IV. Silvestre's atelier was large: he had at least two pupils who had careers as engravers, François Noblesse and Meunier, and In 1670
Charles Le Brun[1] recommended him for membership in the
Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture. In 1675 his son, the artist
Louis Silvestre, was born at
Sceaux.
Notes
1. Le Brun painted portraits of Israel Silvestre and his wife.
External links
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