A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF
the ' Musee Frangais,' published by Laurent, several
of the finest works of the Italian and Dutch masters.
The following are fine specimens of his talent :
Jupiter and Antiope ; after Correggio, La belle Jardiniere ; ajter Raphael. The two portraits called Raphael and his Fencing- master ; ascribed to Raphael. The Entombment of Christ ; after Caravaggio. Charity ; after Andrea del Sarto. Melpomene, Erato, and Polyhymnia ; after Le Sueur. Two subjects, after Terborch ; one after Mieris ; and one after Xetscher. Marie Therese Charlotte, Duchess of Angouleme ; after Derinont. Madame Le Brun ; after herself. Louis XVm. in his coronation robes ; after Le Gros.
ADDRAN Family. THE, 1 Charlis (1594—1674) Clando L U597-1677) Germain 0631-1710) Claude n. (1639-1684) Ofrard 0640-1705) Clande IIL (1668—1731) Benolt L (1661-1721) Jean (1667-1766) 1 Benoit n. (1698-1772) Loais (1670-1711)
AUDRAN, Benoit, ' the elder,' the second son of Germain Audran, was bom at Lyons in 1661. He received liis first instruction in the art of en- graving from his father ; but had afterwards the advantage of studying under his uncle, the cele- brated Gerard Audran. Although he never equalled the admirable style of his uncle, he engraved many plates of historical subjects and portraits, which have justly established his reputation. His style, like that of Gerard, is bold and clear ; his draw- ing of the figure is very correct ; and there is a fine expression of character in his heads. He was received into the Academy in 1709, and was appointed engraver to the king, with a pension. He died in 1721, in the vOlage of Ouzouer, near Sens. His portrait, after J. Vivien, has been en- graved by his nephew Benoit, the younger. The following are his principal plates :
PORTRAITS. Charles le Goux de la Berchere, Archbishop of Nar- bonne ; after L. de Boulogne. Jean Baptiste Colbert ; after G. Lefebvre ; oval. Joseph Clement of Bavaria, Elector - Archbishop of Cologne ; after J. Vivien. Henri de Beringhen ; after Kanteuil. 1710. Samuel Frisching, General of the Swiss; after J. Ruber. 1713. J. F. A. Willading ; after J. Suber. 1718. Equestrian Statue of Louis XIV. ; after Desjardins ; by B. and J. Audran.
SUBJECTS AFTER VARIOUS MASTERS.
The Baptism of Jesus Christ ; after Albani. David with the Head of Goliath ; after a picture m the Louvre, formerly attributed to Michelangelo, but now ascribed to Baniele da Volterra ; two plates, engraved in 1716 and 1717. Moses defending the Daughters of Jethro; after Le Brun. The Espousals of Moses and Zipporah ; after the same. The Elevation of the Cross ; ajler the same. 1706. The Descent from the Cross ; after the same. An allegorical subject — Holland accepting Peace ; after the same. Zephyms and Flora ; after Ant. Coypel. The Pleasures of the Garden ; two friezes ; after Mig- nard ; engraved by Benoit and Jean Audran. 60 The Saviour with Martha and Mary ; after Le Sueur. St. Paul preacliing at Ephesus ; after the same. Alexander drinking the Cup which his Physician pre- sents him ; after the same. The Accouchement of Marie de Medicis ; after Rubens. The Exchange of the Two Queens ; after the same. [The two last form part of the Luxembourg Gallery.] Several other prints by this artist are specified in the ' Dictionnaire des Artistes,' by Heineken, and in Meyer's 'AUgemeines Kiinstler-Lexikon ' upwards of two hundred are enumerated.
AUDRAN, Benoit, called 'the younger,' to dis- tinguish him from his uncle, was bom in Paris in 1698, and died there in 1772. He was the son and pupil of Jean Audran, and engraved in the same manner as his father. He engraved prints after Paolo Veronese, Poussin, Natoire, Lancret, Watteau, and other French artists.
AUDRAN, Charles. Tliis artist was the first of the Audran family who became eminent in the art of engraving. He was bom in Paris in 1594. In his boyhood he showed a great disposition for the art ; he received some instruction in drawing, and when still young went to Rome to perfect himself: there he produced some plates that were admired. He adopted that species of engraving that is entirely performed with the graver, and appears to have formed his style by an imitation of the works of Cornells Bloemaert. On his return to France he lived for some time in Lyons, but finally settled in Paris, where he died in 1674, aged 80. He marked his prints, which are very numerous, in the early part of his life with a C., until his brother Claude, who also engraved a few plates, marked them with the same letter ; he then changed it for K., as the initial of Karl. The following are his principal prints :
PORTRAITS.
Henri of Conde, with the Four Cardinal Virtues ; K. Audran, sc. ; oval. Andre Laurent, physician to Henry IV. ; oval. Pierre Seguier ; oval, with ornaments ; after Oiativeau. An allegorical subject, of two Portraits, with a Genius painting a third Portrait ; inscribed on the pallet, unus ex duobus; signed C. Audran, fecit.
SUBJECTS AFTER DIFFERENT MASTERS.
The title for the Gallery of the Great Women, representing Anne of Austria and nineteen other eminent women, with a subject from their life in the background ; after Pietro da Cortona.
The Annunciation ; inscribed Spiritus Sanctus, ^c. ; after Lodcvico Carracci, incorrectly attributed on the plate to Annibale ; very fine ; it is the picture in the Cathedral at Bologna. The Baptism of Christ ; small oval ; after Ann. Car- racci ; no name. St. Francis de Paula; after Mellin ; marked Carl. Audran, sc.
The Stoning of Stephen ; after Raima ' the younger.' The Conception of the Virgin Mary ; after Stella. The Nativity ; after the same. The Holy Family, with St. Catharine and Angels ; after the same ; fine. The Virgin and Infant Jesus, St. John presenting an Apple, and St. Catharine kneeling ; after Titian ; very fijie. The Virgin Mary and Infant Jesus treading on the Serpent ; after 6. L. Valesio.
A Thesis, representing Religion as the true Knowledge ; inscribed Noyi judicamus, Sjc. ; after C. Vignon. St. Francis de Paula in ecstasy before the Sacrament ; after S. Vouet. Frontispiece for a Book, Fame holding the Portrait of Cardinal Mazarin ; after the same. The Assumption of the Virgin after Domeniehino ; very fine.
