Nicolas Beatrize

Nicolas Beatrizet (also Béatrizet or Beatricetto, b. in or before 1520 – d. after 1560) was a 16th-century French engraver active primarily in Rome. Likely born in Lunéville, France, he is thought to have studied under prominent engravers Giorgio Ghisi and Agostino Veneziano, two leading figures in the Roman printmaking tradition. Beatrizet worked extensively from 1540 to 1560 and was closely associated with Michelangelo, producing engravings under his direction that helped disseminate the master’s work to a broader European audience.

While Beatrizet’s engravings are not widely praised for their technical brilliance, they hold lasting importance as visual records of now-lost or inaccessible works by major Renaissance artists. His plates often reproduced compositions by Michelangelo, Raphael, and others, making them key sources for art historians and collectors. Publisher Antonio Lafrery frequently issued his prints, which contributed to the flourishing of the print trade in mid-16th-century Rome. Despite criticism of his draftsmanship by later connoisseurs, Beatrizet’s body of work remains a significant contribution to the history of reproductive engraving in the Renaissance.