Jean-François Cars

Jean-François Cars (16 October 1661 – 30 August 1738) was a French engraver, printer, publisher, and printseller from Lyon, France. Active during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Cars operated workshops in both Lyon and Paris, producing portraits, book illustrations, and theses for Jesuit colleges. He trained numerous apprentices and established a multi-generational legacy in engraving, notably as the father of Laurent Cars.

Biography

Jean-François Cars was born in Lyons on 16 October 1661, the son of François Cars père [Senior], and his wife, Virginie Chesne. His father was an engraver and printseller who had come from Paris to settle in Lyon, at rue [Street] Mercière, with his brother, Gabriel, also an engraver. They were the sons of Jean Cars, an artisan and a sculptor “de peu de notoriété” [“of little notoriety”] of Paris, and his wife, Maria Firans, the daughter of an engraver. So Jean-François and his brothers, François fils [Junior] (1682–1763) and Joseph, were the fourth generation of engravers in their family. Baptized on the next day, Jean-François had as his godfather another engraver, François Demasso of Lyon, who also worked as a merchant of prints and figurines.

Jean-François died on 30 August 1738 at his home on rue Saint-Jacques in Paris.

Engravings

Jean-François Cars’ works are not comparable to those of his more renowned son, Laurent Cars His plates are sometimes marked “J. F. Cars” but more frequently “J. F. Cars fils [Junior]”. Henri, Prince de la Tour d'Auvergne, 1699. engraved and signed “J. f. Cars”, 1706, after Rigaud Camille de Neufville de Villeroy, Archbishop and Count of Lyon, Melchior, Cardinal de Polignac, 1720, after Rigaud Michel Poncet de la Rivière, Bishop of Angers, 1722, signed “J. F. Cars” Dominique de Saint Clair, Bishop of Séez Louis Auguste, Prince de Dombes, signed “J. f. Cars le fils” Louis, Vicomte d'Aubusson