‘AROUND THE OVAL: “PETRUS PAYEN DESSANDES SENAT. CHAMB. CLERICORUM IN SVP. GALL. CVRIA DECANVS AB S. MARIE PRIOR ET PAROCHVS.” LOWER RIGHT: “NANTEUIL AD VIVUM FACIEBAT 1659.”‘ – Fine engraved portrait of Pierre Payen, depicted half-length and turned slightly toward the viewer. He wears the robes and collar associated with his ecclesiastical and judicial office. The portrait appears within a large oval frame surrounded by finely engraved horizontal lines. Beneath the oval is a coat of arms. Pierre Payen served as Dean of the Chambre des Clercs in the Parlement of Paris and held the position of Prior and parish priest of Sainte-Marie. This portrait was engraved in 1659 by Robert Nanteuil, the leading French portrait engraver of the seventeenth century. Nanteuil’s works are renowned for their extremely refined burin technique and their precise depiction of prominent members of French political, religious, and intellectual society during the reign of Louis XIV.
