Fat Man with Eyes Closed, from “Beggar Series” or “Les Gueux”
Jacques Callot
Description
Gallery Rotation Winter 2013
Jacques Callot
France, 1592–1635
Man, from Les Gueux
1622–28
Etching
Gift of Ruth W. and Clarence J. Boldt, Jr., 2008/2.383.2
These three etchings are from Jacque Callot’s Les Gueux or The Beggars, which consists of twenty-five prints likely produced during the artist’s stay in Italy. Callot’s compassionate representations of the figures reveal his talent for incisive observation and intense interest in surface textures and details, showcased by his meticulous engraving technique. The lack of background details gives the figures an imposing monumentality and emphasizes the detailed rendering of their features and accoutrements. Callot was one of the best known and most accomplished printmakers of the period and his prints were popular and frequently copied.
Aside from the frontispiece, Two Pilgrims is the only print from the series that depicts multiple figures. Their ragged layered clothes, large hats, walking sticks, and distinctive badges suggest that they are either embarking on or returning from a pilgrimage, as does the church visible in the distance.
Subject Matter:
Jacques Callot was an innovative and highly accomplished printmaker. Callot's style is both dramatic and elegant; here we see the monumental treatment of a beggar observed and drawn with great sensitivity.
Physical Description:
The single figure of a beggar dominates the composition. Dressed in rags and leaning on a staff, the figure faces the viewer and is shown walking with only slight indication of setting, principally the man's shadows.
Two punctures approximately 4cm apart at the upper center. Paper size: h 21 2/5cm x w 15 1/10cm. Plate size: lh 13 7/10cm & rh 13 2/5cm x tw 8 3/5cm & bw 8 7/10cm.
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