This C.1695 original engraving of the famous French mathematician Guillaume Francois Antoine, Marquis de L'Hospital is by the celebrated French printmaker Gerard Edelinck (1653-1733) after a painting by Nicholas Fouche. Edelinck was one of the greatest masters of pure engraving, never using etching or drypoint in the 400 he produced.  He revolutionized engraving by abandoning lines that crossed to form squares, massing his lines and changing their direction to avoid the monotony that had marked  all previous work in France. The  subject, De L'Hospital, wrote the first book on calculus and his name is remembered today for L'Hospital's Rule for calculating limits involving intermediate forms. Measuring approx. 9 1/4" x 6 3/4" image,  it is signed on the right  above the tablet .  It is in excellent condition, loose, with no holes, tears, stains or toning  Reference:  Roger-Armand Weigert, Inventaire du fonds français, graveurs du XVIIe siècle, Bibliothèque nationale, Cabinet des estampes, Tome IV, Paris 1961, p. 39, Gérard Edelinck no. 150  

The majority of Edelinck's engraved portraits in this format were made to decorate the theses of French students, who dedicated their academic work to contemporary dignitaries in order to earn their patronage. The dedications and portraits, originally accompanied by a summary of the thesis, aided in the advertisement of the public defense of the thesis. The elaborate defense ceremony itself involved the student’s oral dedication to the dignitary, whose portrait presided over the room. Impressions were distributed to members of the audience and sent to others. Due to the popularity of these ceremonies, the thesis portrait as a genre was standardized during the 17th century.