Arco di Constantio

Israel Silvestre, called the Younger to distinguish him from his father, was born in Nancy, France, on August 13, 16211. Silvestre was a prolific draftsman, etcher and print dealer who specialized in topographical views and perspectives of famous buildings. Orphaned at an early age, he was taken in by his uncle in Paris, Israel Henriet, an etcher and print seller and friend of the artist Jacques Callot. Silvestre traveled extensively in France and Italy. He visited Italy several times to hone his artistic skills, copying works by Italian old masters and representing the Italian landscape. He made his first trip from 1638 until 1640 when he was 18 years old. He returned to France with his sketches of the Italian landscape, most notably of Venice, and quickly turned them into etchings in his workshop. His work, particularly the Venetian subjects published in the 1660s, influenced eighteenth-century painters of vedute such as Luca Carlevaris and Canaletto, who adapted his compositions. The artist's small copperplate etchings from his trip to Italy were among his first productions. His works were intended to depict the living city that surrounded the landmarks, so his compositions were based on sketches made on location, with foregrounds added later. The prints he produced and published were sold individually and in series. In 1662, he was appointed dessinateur et graveur du Roi and in 1673 he was appointed drawing-master to Louis, le Grand Dauphin. From 1668 he had workshop space in the galleries of the Louvre where he worked for the court of Louis XIV. At his death, in Paris in 1691, he left a large collection of drawings, more than a thousand engravings, and other works of art to his sons, whose artistic tastes he had nurtured. The family collection was sold at auction in 1810.