Jacob Pieter Mercier

Place: Batavia

Born: 1839

Death: 1900

Biography:

Jacob Pieter Mercier was born in Batavia, Indonesia in 1839 and died in 1900. He was a painter known for his work Gezicht op het eiland Kuiper in de baai van Batavia. He was admitted to the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture in 1663. He left about 119 prints, mainly portraits of famous individuals of his day such as Cardinal Rinaldo d' Este, Mazarin and King Louis XIV of France. Some of these were made after his own designs such as the Portrait of Cardinal Rinaldo d' Este. Most of them are after paintings by other artists. He also made reproductive prints of the history paintings of other artists an example of which is the St Sebastian after Anthony van Dyck. Pieter van Schuppen excelled in the use of ornamental design. He possessed a dexterity with the engraved line and ability to capture the most subtle features of the face. Because of these abilities he was during his life known as 'le petit Nanteuil' (the little Nanteuil).