King Henry IV of France
First Bourbon King

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Henry the Fourth
Henry the Fourth Detail
Renold Elstrack (1571-aft.1625) (after)
Charles Turner (1774-1857) (engraver)
Henry the Fourth, King of France, Called the Great
Samuel Woodburn, London: 1814
Mezzotint, uncolored
14 x 10.25 inches, overall
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Portrait of Henry IV of France seated atop a costumed caparisoned horse. The king is dressed in decorative armor, baton in hand, and adorned with an olive branch crown. He appears in a battle landscape scene, separated from the action in an artistic dramatization of his persona.

Henry IV (1553-1610) was King of France from 1589-1610, the first of the Bourbon kings of France. He was raised as a Huguenot (Protestant) by his mother, and religious tensions between Protestants and Catholics, including outbreaks of warfare, marked the first five years of his reign. He finally converted to Catholicism in 1594, to ease the tensions, although he did issue an edict of religious tolerance toward Huguenots. During the rest of his reign he adopted policies and initiated public works projects to improve the lives of all citizens, which made him one of the country's most popular rulers ever.

Renold Estrack (sometimes spelled Elstrake Elsrack or Elstracke) was a British printmaker. He mainly engraved for booksellers after his own designs. He is chiefly known for his portraits, including some of the most important people of his time. In 1618, he published a series of historical portraits called True and lively Effigies of all our English Kings.

Charles Turner was an English engraver and draftsman. From 1795 he studied at the Royal Academy Schools, and began publishing prints in 1796. He worked in mezzotint and occasionally in stipple and aquatint for a variety of British publishers, mostly in London . Turner was valued for his ability to adapt his engraving style to that of the painter he was reproducing. He also worked with speed and facility, producing many plates of topical interest, such as one of the earliest prints of Napoleon. He also engraved the first print after a painting by J.M.W. Turner.

Full publication information: Samuel Woodburn, 112 St. Martin's Lane.

References:

"Charles Turner." The Grove Dictionary of Art. New York: Macmillan. 2000. Online at Artnet.com. http://www.artnet.com/library/08/0866/T086648.asp ( 22 December 2003 ).

" Henry IV." Wikipedia. http://www.4reference.net/encyclopedias/wikipedia/Henry _IV_of_France.html ( 22 December 2003 ).

"Renold Estracke." Redgrave, Samuel. A Dictionary of Artists of the English School: Painters, Sculptors, Architects, Engravers and Ornamentists. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1874. p. 138.