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FRANÇOIS SPIERRE (Nancy 1639 - Marseille 1681) PORTRAIT OF FERDINAND II DE' MEDICI (after Suttermans)
Engraving, with printed signature and date 'Franciscus Spierre Lotaringus Sculpebat 1659'; Le Blanc 7. A fine impression, with margins; lesser defects, generally in very good condition.To the platemark 325 x 245 mm.
PROVENANCE: Pierre Mariette II (1634 -1716), Lugt 1787, 1788, 1789, 1790. Inscribed by Mariette in pen and brown ink 'P. mariette 1668 / c110 /16' (recto) and 'P. mariette 1669' (verso).

A painter and an engraver, Spierre trained in Paris, a pupil of the engraver Jean-Baptiste de Poilly. Then he went to Rome, where remained for the rest of his career working mainly as an engraver after Italian masters.