Artwork
Jardin du Cardinal Montalte
Jardin du Cardinal Montalte is an ink print by the Baroque artist Israël Silvestre. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Israel Silvestre’s *Jardin du Cardinal Montalte* (1650) is an etching executed on laid paper that presents a meticulously arranged garden scene. Central to the composition is a multi‑storey tower surrounded by ornamental fountains, trees, and a paved avenue that draws the eye upward. A heraldic shield occupies the foreground, underscoring the prestige of the setting.
Subject & Meaning
The image records a formal Renaissance garden belonging to Cardinal Montalte, emphasizing order, symmetry, and the display of power through architecture and landscape. The tower serves as a focal point, while the surrounding water features and neatly trimmed trees illustrate the era’s ideal of cultivated nature as a symbol of cultured refinement.
Technique & Style
Silvestre employed fine line etching to render delicate textures and subtle gradations of tone on laid paper, a surface that accentuates the work’s crispness. His approach combines precise perspective with intricate detailing, characteristic of his topographical prints, allowing viewers to discern individual architectural elements and foliage with remarkable clarity.
History & Provenance
Between 1630 and 1650 he traveled through France, Spain, and Italy, sketching notable sites that he later transformed into marketable prints.
Born in Nancy in 1621, Silvestre was orphaned early and trained in Paris under his uncle, an established etcher linked to Jacques Callot. Between 1630 and 1650 he traveled through France, Spain, and Italy, sketching notable sites that he later transformed into marketable prints. *Jardin du Cardinal Montalte* emerged from this practice of converting on‑site drawings into commercially sold etchings.
Artist & collection
Artist
Israel Silvestre (13 August 1621 in Nancy – 11 October 1691 in Paris), 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…
Castle under Siege
Vuë de l'Eglise sainct Pierre, et du Chasteau Sainct Ange
Palais de la Reyne Catherine de Medicis
Veue de Berny a deux lieues de Paris sur le chemin d'Orléans
L'Eglise Saincte Sophie de Constantinople, bastie par Constantin le Grand; a present Mosquée du Grand seigneur
Campo Vacina
Veuë d'une partie de la place Navonne a Rome
Veue de l'Eglise nostre Dame de Rouen
The Two Statues
Veuë de la Navicule St. Estienne le Rond et du Colisée de Rome
Landscape View
Veue de l'Eglise de la Madonna del popolo à Rome
Veduta dei Coliseo
View of an Antique Fountain
Stairs in an Italian Garden
View in the Garden of a Roman Villa, with the Temple of Hercules Victor and the Temple of Portunus
Trees Screening a House Built on Ancient Ruins
Villa d'Este, Tivoli
Park with Terrace and a Balustrade with Statues
Vuë du Palais et Jardin du Cardinal Ludovise