GOURMONT, Jean de - b. ~1483 Carquebut, d. ~1551 ?

French engraver, draughtsman, painter and possible goldsmith, member of a family of artists. He was the most distinguished member of the family. He worked in Paris (c. 1508-20) together with his brothers Robert and Gilles de Gourmont; subsequently he was in Lyon (1522-26). His engravings have been identified with those of the monogrammist JG; this is confirmed by the portrait of Cardinal Charles de Bourbon (c. 1551), where this monogram is followed by the inscription ‘ourmont fe’, completing his name. Three of his plates bear the word Alion.

His engraved work, executed with very fine and close lines, comprises c. 30 pieces, two of which, St Barbara and St Sebastian, are copies after Marcantonio Raimondi. There is also a portrait of Charles, Cardinal de Guise-Lorraine (1575) and several arabesque strips, which may be part of a collection published by the Gourmont family in Paris in 1546: Le Livre des moresques, intended for goldsmiths, engravers, painters and embroiderers.

Adoration of the Shepherds

The setting of dreamlike architecture in this picture, clearly inspired by Roman antiquity, although it is difficult to tell whether it is under construction or in ruins, is given far more prominence than the religious subject-matter. Gourmont, a French painter, worked first in Paris then in Lyons, also executed engravings in which he often exploited his virtuoso study of perspective.