François L'Anglois
François L’Anglois | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Chartres, France |
| Died | 13 January 1647 (aged 57) Paris, France |
| Other names | F. L. D. Ciartres |
| Occupation(s) | Print publisher, engraver, bookseller, art dealer, painter |
| Known for | France’s pioneering major print publisher; disseminating contemporary artists' works throughout Europe |
François L’Anglois, also referred to as Langlois (; baptized 12 May 1589 – 13 January 1647) and known by the moniker F. L. D. Ciartres ("François Langlois from Chartres"), was a multifaceted French figure engaged in print publishing, engraving, bookselling, art dealing, and painting. He holds distinction as France’s pioneering major print publisher who played a crucial role in disseminating the works of contemporary artists throughout Europe.
Life and career
L’Anglois was born and baptized in Chartres on 12 May 1589. His travels took him extensively through Italy, including visits to Rome (1613, 1614, 1621), Genoa, and Florence, where he formed connections with notable painters such as Anthony van Dyck and Claude Vignon, both of whom created portraits of him. During these journeys, he also encountered renowned engravers like Stefano della Bella and François Collignon. It was around this timeframe that he acquired the nickname Ciartres, an Italianized form of Chartres. Between 1624 and 1625, he collaborated with Vignon in art dealing and acted as a print collector for distinguished clients including Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel and Charles I of England.
Among his significant contributions is the 1620 publication Livre de Fleurs, which features an extensive collection of illustrations depicting garden flowers, birds, and insects. L’Anglois was responsible for designing the title page and supervising the botanical plates engraved by German artist Léonard Gaultier, Claude Savary, and Barthélémy Gaultier; he also personally contributed drawings and engravings to some plates.
In 1629, while journeying to Italy, L’Anglois partnered with Antwerp-based painter Matthieu Fredeau to produce the Rosary altarpiece for the Dominican church located in Aix-en-Provence. Around this period, he embarked on his print publishing career by producing illustrated volumes alongside Melchior Tavernier. He achieved master status within the bookseller’s guild on 26 October 1634 and subsequently founded his enterprise at the 'Colonnes d'Hercule' on Paris's rue Saint-Jacques. Shortly thereafter, in 1637, he married Madeleine de Collemont.
In 1645, he issued Pierre de Sainte-Marie Magdeleine's Traitté d'horlogiographie, a comprehensive treatise addressing various aspects of time measurement including horology, tidal calculations, geometric cutting methods, and principles of measurement. His son Nicolas Langlois (1640–1703) later published a new edition in Paris in 1657.
François L’Anglois passed away in Paris on 13 January 1647.
Some selected works published by François L’Anglois
- Livre des fleurs (1620)
- R. P. Ioannis Francisci Niceronis Parisini, ex Ord. Minim. Thaumaturgus opticus, seu Admiranda Optices... Pars prima De iis quae spectant ad visionem directam, authored by Jean François Nicéron (1646), held in five libraries worldwide
- Le Livre Original de la Portraiture pour la Jeunesse tiré de F. Bologne et autres bons peintres. L. Ferdinand fecit
- La perspective speculative, et pratique... De l'invention du feu sieur Aleaume, ingenieur du roy, by Jacques Aleaume
- Maniere de bien bastir pour toutes sortes de personnes, composed by Pierre Le Muet, Architecte ordinaire du roy, featuring additional figures and architectural plans in its second edition
Bibliography
- Benezit (2006). "Langlois, François called F. L. D. Ciartres," vol. 8, p. 428, in Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Paris: Gründ. .
- Préaud, Maxime (1996). "Langlois, François," vol. 18, pp. 745–746, in The Dictionary of Art, edited by Jane Turner. New York: Grove. .