Gérard Edelinck was an engraver and publisher of Flemish origin who worked in Paris beginning in 1666. He was admitted to the Academie Royale in 1677 and became a councilor of that body and First Draftsman to the Cabinet du Roi in 1694. Edelinck specialized in engraved portraits and sometimes made prints after other artists. This printed image was based on a painted portrait by Theodorus Netscher, active in Paris in 1679–99. It portrays comedian Raymond Poisson as the character Crispin, an unscrupulous, deceitful servant celebrated in French comedy of the time. Here, Crispin bows to the viewer, hat in hand.