A Life Bridging Worlds: Bernard Baron (1696–1762) Bernard Baron’s story is one of artistic migration, a life spent deftly navigating the cultural currents between his native Paris and the burgeoning art scene of 18th-century London. Born around 1696 into a family already steeped in engraving—his father, Laurent Baron, was also an engraver—the young Bernard initially trained under his stepfather, Nicolas-Henri Tardieu, a prominent figure in French printmaking. This early education laid the foundation for a career that would see him become a sought-after portraitist and reproductive engraver o…