Nicolas de larmessin biography sampler

Born about in 1638 from a family of Parisian printers and engravers specialized in popular works such as calendars, playing cards, prints and prayer books, and also known by the surname L’Armessin, Nicolas de Lamerssin II for the valuable series’ Les costumes grotesques et les metiers Fancy Trade Costumes series’ has engraved on copper about a hundred caricatures of artisans taken up in their daily occupations or dressed in their work tools, with a taste on the borderline between grotesque and futuristic.

Pictured above, the caricature of the musician.

Thanks to:

“I costumi grotteschi e i mestieri” di Nicolas de Larmessin II

from which the above published article is taken.

Nato circa nel 1638 da una famiglia di stampatori e incisori parigini specializzati in opere di carattere popolare come calendari, carte da gioco, stampe e libri di preghiere, e conosciuti anche con il cognome L’Armessin, Nicolas de Lamerssin II per la pregevole serie ‘Les cos