Background
He was born at Troyes in 1610, the son of a painter named Noel Cochin.
He was born at Troyes in 1610, the son of a painter named Noel Cochin.
He often imitated and copied Callot, but chose for his model De la Belle, some of whose drawings he engraved.
About 1635, he went to Paris, where he died in 1686. Like these two artists he excelled in small figures, which he grouped and delineated with lifelike animation. His specialty was topography, including battles, sieges, and encampments.
He engraved several hundred subjects, the most important of which are those he executed for the "Glorieuses Conquêtes de Louis le Grand," called the "Grand Beaulieu," published between the years 1676 and 1694.
The best of these plates may be the "Siege of Arras," engraved on sixteen plates by Cochin and Frosne. Nicolas Cochin is the best of the engravers whom Troyes has produced.
His drawing is firm, and his engraving fine and delicate. His plates are marked with his name in full, or with his initials only, or with a monogram.
M. Corrard de Breban has given in his "Graveurs Troyens," 1868, a list of Cochin"s works, among which the following are noteworthy:
The Life of the Virgin.
After Albrecht Dürer. 18 plates
The Marriage in Cana. After Paolo Veronese
The Miracle of the Loaves.
After Devos
The Parable of the Prodigal Son.
After Audran; 4 plates
Christ bearing the Cross. After Callot
The Ascension of the Virgin.
After the same
The Passion. 12 plates
The Conversion of Saint Paul
The Procession of Saint Genevieve in 1652.
Extremely curious
The Entry of Louis XIV. and his Queen into Paris in 1660.
An enormous work composed of several plates. The Entry of the Queen of Sweden. 1658.
The Fair of Guibray.
After F. Chauvel.
1658.
Portrait of Boutmie, the goldsmith. Rare and highly esteemed. View of Tournay; after Van der Meulen.