French family of engravers. Pierre Drevet (b Loire-sur-Rhône, 20 July 1663; d Paris, 9 Aug 1738) studied engraving with Germain Audran (1631–1710) in Lyon and then with Girard Audran in Paris. He undertook the engraving of portraits by his friend Hyacinthe Rigaud and in this type of work was able to display his technical virtuosity. In 1692 he set up as an engraver and publisher, and in 1696 he was appointed Graveur du Roi. Although he was accepted (agréé) by the Académie Royale in 1703 and admitted (reçu) in 1707, he did not complete his morceau de réception until 1722, with an engraving (Roux, no. 36) after Rigaud’s portrait of Robert de Cotte (Paris, Louvre). Drevet’s engraving (1712; R 81) after Rigaud’s full-length portrait of Louis XIV (1701; Paris, Louvre) was executed by royal command. In 1726 Drevet was granted lodgings in the Palais du Louvre. He engraved 125 plates after Nicolas de Largillierre, François de Troy and, above all, Rigaud. Among his pupils were Michel Dossier (1684–1750), Simon de La Vallée (1680–after 1730) and François Chéreau, as well as his son Pierre-Imbert Drevet (b Paris, 22 June 1697; d Paris, 27 April 1739), who showed a precocious talent and a virtuosity surpassing that of his father. Pierre-Imbert’s masterpiece is the engraving of Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1723; R 9) after Rigaud’s portrait (Paris, Louvre). He was accepted (agréé) by the Académie Royale in 1724 and appointed Graveur du Roi in 1729; unfortunately he became insane. Some of his plates were made in collaboration with his father. Pierre Drevet also taught his nephew Claude Drevet (b Loire-sur-Rhône, 23 April 1697; d Paris, 23 Dec 1781), who engraved a few good portraits but mostly exploited commercially the family stock of plates. The three Drevets brought reproductive engraving to a peak in 18th-century France.