France engraving was officially elevated from an industrial craft to a liberal art when King Louis XIV signed the Edict of Saint Jean-de-Luz in 1660. This proclamation opened the doors of the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture to In professional engravers like Flemish-born artist Gérard Edelinck, who excelled at creating detailed reproductive engravings such as this one after academician Philippe de Champaigne's self-portrait set in a landscape.