Omer Talon

Omer Talon was the attorney general to the Parisian Parliament at the beginning of the Fronde, a period of civil war in France, known for opposing a major tax proposed by Louis XIV’s mother, Anne of Austria. With his singular style of engraving, Claude Mellan employed parallel lines, rather than cross-hatching, to create shading. This technique is visible on Talon’s cap, where Mellan thickened and darkened portions of the lines around its center to suggest a dark fabric lit from above. Since this style leaves more of the paper untouched by ink, Mellan’s engravings are often lighter than works by his contemporaries.